Split Image
by Mslead-Kytrin
Summary: Becoming the number one hero had been Bakugo's dream since he was four years old. Now, finally, his goals were in reach. But events are taken out of his hands when a villain attack forces him to face his past in a literal way. With Bakugo trapped in the past and Barbarian King Katsuki stuck in the present, it's up to his partner Kirishima to fix this mistake. [KIRIBAKU]
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello hello! This is our first foray into the My Hero Academia fandom! For those of you new to the way we write our fics, we have everything pre-written and ready to go! Updates will likely be twice a week if scheduling allows. We're starting off nice and slow for our new readers, this fic will have fourteen chapters total. There will be shows of violence and blood, as well as mature themes later on in the story. Without further ado, please enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer:We do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters**_

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Bakugo Katsuki gasped sharply as he bolted upright in his bed, sweat pouring off him and his skin crackling with that instinctive need to explode. He shoved the impulse down with willpower alone, willpower he'd learned through far too many years of blowing things up accidentally.

He rubbed his face, his nose wrinkling slightly as the gesture only made the mess on his face worse, he shook his head a little and swung his legs over the side of the bed. A quick glance at the clock cheerfully informing him that it was two a.m. had him grimacing and tempted to shove his face back into his pillow, but he knew it would be useless.

He'd never been able to stand sleeping on sweat soaked sheets ever since his quirk manifested, and now that he was awake it would bug him into an even worse mood than he was already in.

Resigning himself to his fate, he sighed and got up to strip his bed, tossing the sheets into a pile of others just like them, and got up to stagger over to the shower.

His plan, such as it was, to get a shower, change his sheets, and fall back into bed until his alarm forced him to get up or Best Jeanist called him. Whichever happened first.

And on any other night it probably would've worked, but this time his mind would not let go of the fragments of the weird dream he'd had. Which was just as maddening as sweat soaked sheets in a way because he already knew he'd never be able to piece the dream together enough to make sense of it. At best he'd get images. Images he was already familiar with. His imagination had been more or less stuck on repeat since he'd started at UA after all, when it wasn't throwing dreams about the various fights he'd gotten in into his face, and he knew the players by now. But he could never actually remember the plot his mind insisted on replaying as often as possible.

Which was enough to just piss him right off.

His dreams always seemed to take place in a wild kingdom, magical forests with the strange appeal of of every fantasy RPG he had played as a teenager. Bakugo always starred in these dreams, shouting with a sword in hand and flames dancing around his body.

He shook his head and told himself to get over it. His brain had never been normal, and he needed to just accept that fact already. Wasn't that part of the whole being a genius thing anyway?

The thought helped enough that his brain stopped chewing on it, and he was able to finish his shower, make his bed back up, and fall back into bed before it was three.

Thank the gods for not being assholes for once.

-::-

The sound of his alarm blaring two and a half hours later had him snarling at his alarm and seriously considering blowing the damned device up, but he managed to refrain. Best Jeanist had threatened to dock his pay to 'create a fund for alarms' if he learned he'd blown up another alarm clock, and that wasn't something he wanted to deal with. At all. The other sidekicks would be even more insufferable than they already were.

The prissy bastards.

So he settled for slamming his hand down on it to shut it up and crawled out of bed to pull on his workout clothes and start his morning routine. He glanced at his phone as he headed for the door and contemplated giving Kirishima a call, well aware the redhead would be up this early too, but decided against it.

If he remembered the idiot's schedule properly, which he knew he did, then today was a weight day and he didn't want to distract from that. The moron had taken his words from years ago to heart and was determined to be a more immovable wall than All Might had been. He could respect that, so he wouldn't distract his friend from training. He'd probably be getting a call from him later anyway.

Decided, he headed out and started his usual run, but though he normally enjoyed the peace of the early morning when the rest of the world was still mercifully asleep, the quiet gave his head the green light to start chewing on his earlier dream again.

No longer desperate to get back to sleep he let it happen, but as usual all he had were flashes. A glimpse of scales the color of Kirishima's hair, a rocky cavern of some kind, and a colorful sea of tents that filled him with pride.

Unable to make sense of it he shook his head and turned his mind firmly on his plans for the day. He ignored the sudden bout of nerves that accompanied the thought, and went over each part again. He had to get this right. There was simply no other option. Deku had already branched out on his own thanks to his rich boyfriend helping supply the capital. So to make up for it, he would have to build something even better than what the green haired bastard had.

It was time for Ground Zero to go full pro.

Bakugo let the rhythm of his feet pounding into the pavement fuel his thoughts. Best Jeanist would probably be relieved to get Bakugo out of his hair, the bastard. A smirk twitched at the corner of his lips at the thought of deep, disapproving eyes glaring at him over a wide brimmed collar.

Best Jeanist would think he's rushing things, trying to be the best as quickly as possible, but it wasn't the case. He had a plan, of course he had a plan, he wasn't a dumbass like fucking Deku after all.

But as much as it grated his nerves to admit it, Bakugo couldn't do it himself.

He let the cold air fill his lungs, bracing himself against it until he arrived at his final destination. A quick glance at his time had his lip curling in annoyance. He let his mind wander too much during his run and now it looked like he lost time. It was aggravating but not nearly as much as it would have been when he was younger. It was one of the lessons he had to learn in UA.

At least he didn't let it ruin his already shitty mood for the rest of the day.

He made it back to Best Jeanist's agency with time to spare, sliding on his costume after taking a quick shower. In comparison to all of his sidekicks, Bakugo probably stood out the most. His hair refused to lay down flat for long and after a very public disaster of Bakugo trying to apprehend a villain in a tight pair of jeans, Best Jeanist had given it up as a lost cause. "Scorch marks didn't look good on the tailored fabric of-blah, blah,blah." Bakugo tuned out the rest of the lecture after the first few seconds.

He tossed his bag roughly in his locker and slammed it shut, stomping to Best Jeanist's office before the rest of his lackeys showed up. The halls were thankfully still mostly empty, so no one stopped him to scold Bakugo over the noise he made.

Luckily his boss was always here early, and if there was one thing he could respect about the overly groomed man, it was his hard work and dedication.

He rapped his knuckles hard and short on Jeanist's open door, "Hey. Got a second?" He grunted.

As expected, Best Jeanist was sitting at his desk and looking down at several police reports he was reviewing before he had his assistant submit it. Every hero was expected to review and file every crime they fought. It was a strictly documented procedure that every hero agency went through, tied closely to the police. It was a drag, but Bakugo knew his reports were fucking pristine even if Jeanist refused to tell him they were.

Bastard.

Even now Jeanist did not immediately look up from what he was doing, testing Bakugo's patience as one second dragged into the next.

Bakugo's grip on the door became stiff and smouldering, but he grit his teeth in silence because he knew blowing up would have him being ignored longer. And his pay docked.

After an entire minute passed, sixty whole goddamn seconds of Bakugo's precious time, Jeanist looked up at him calmly.

"Good morning Bakugo, are you burning my door again?" Best Jeanist inquired, steely gaze fixated on his hand.

"Not yet," Bakugo growled back, dropping his hand to expose the thankfully unburned door, "I wanted to talk to you before the rest of the idiots get here."

Best Jeanist fell silent, his eyes quiet and judging behind the cowl of his cloak. It was all Bakugo could make out, his eyes as impenetrable as always. It frustrated Bakugo to be on the other end of that knowing gaze, but he didn't rise to the bait he knew his mentor was drawing out. After being his sidekick for as long as Bakugo had been, he knew when Best Jeanist was trying to draw out a moment. The showboat.

Jeanist eventually extended a hand, offering Bakugo a seat in front of his desk. Kicking the door shut behind him, Bakugo smirked at the eyebrow twitch Jeanist made over his rough treatment of the door. It really took the most abuse out of anything else in his agency.

Bakugo sat down in the chair, normally he would slouch a little to annoy Jeanist over his bad posture, but all fun aside he wanted to talk to the man seriously. Jeanist seemed to notice this change faster than Bakugo would have liked, and his entire stance shifted forward in a more attentive way.

"So you've come to put in your notice?" Jeanist asked calmly.

Bakugo made sure to keep his surprise over the pro's observation off his face but Jeanist noticed anyway.

"It's hardly a surprise Bakugo, for better or worse, Ground Zero is already one of the most infamous sidekicks to come to my agency," Jeanist read his face without pause, frustrating Bakugo with his,cleverness, "you could have gone pro straight out of UA if you wanted."

Could have. Not should have. No one could deny his overwhelming desire to win or his passion to be the number one hero.

But Bakugo hadn't been finished learning yet.

"Yeah, well it's time now," Bakugo growled.

"Why now?" Jeanist asked, mild curiosity entering his voice, "This doesn't have anything to do with Deku opening his agency last month does it?"

Bakugo grit his teeth against the world of implications in that deceptive question, and reminded himself to breathe calmly. No matter what his bastard mentor thought, or tried to imply, this wasn't about Deku.

Yeah the timing was coincidental, but he'd learned years ago to never put a plan into motion until he was ready to. Not before. It was one of the first things Jeanist had gotten through his head during his second year internship, citing a number of extremely embarrassing examples from his fights with the League of Villains, and he'd adhered to it since.

"That dumbass opening his own agency before me has nothing to do with this." He ground out, "All it means is that when I put my plan in motion he'll be left gawking in the dust with the rest of you." A faint smirk curled his lips involuntarily, "I've been making plans since I decided to apply as your sidekick, and it's time to put them into motion."

"I admit to being curious now." Jeanist replied, "What exactly is it you have planned that makes this timing so important?"

Bakugo's smirk widened into a full on shark smile, "You'll just have to find out with the rest."

"Are you sure you're ready?" Jeanist asked, and there was enough actual concern in his eyes that Bakugo bit back his reflexive response.

Despite how much the two of them butted heads, and they did it nearly daily, this was still the pro that had recognized the potential in him. Who had offered him internship after internship and a work study in his third year. Who had told him to his face that he could be number one, but he'd never make it as he was.

The one who had offered to teach him when All Might and Aizawa were caught up with their own students and everyone else had written him off as too much trouble.

Jeanist might be a smug bastard, but the asshole cared about results and Bakugo knew it.

"Yeah." He replied after a moment, "I've spent the last two years learning everything you could cram in my brain, and the timing will never be better. I'm aiming for a different kind of agency, and if I want to make it work I need to strike now."

It was essential. His agency was going to be the first in history to formally acknowledge and form teams of pros. For the most part they worked alone as they tried to fill All Might's shoes, at most partnering up informally or working in teams only when they had to. There was the hero network of course, organized by the police for larger busts, but Bakugo aimed to change that. He was going to build an agency that had people who knew how to work together out of the gate. Who could handle anything that came their way.

And he knew his classmates were all on the verge of going from sidekick to pro. If he was going to make this work with people he was at least familiar with then he had to do it now.

Starting with Kirishima as his partner. He heard rumors of Red Riot looking to go pro, and he couldn't let him fall through the cracks.

"Very well then." Jeanist replied after a moment, his gaze intent on Bakugo's face as if he could read everything he planned on it. He probably could. The man wasn't a top five pro for nothing.

"I accept your notice. You have two weeks from today to rescind it and the whole of that time off your usual patrols to make whatever preparations you need."

He got up without another word being said between them but the silence spoke volumes.

-::-

Knots twisted in Bakugo's gut that very day, even if anyone who looked at him would say outwardly he was the very picture of calm. He sat at a table, fingers drumming impatiently to meet up with Kirishima. As predicted, his friend had shot him a somewhat unintelligible text sometime around nine.

It was filled with horrible flexing emojis and bad spelling, which meant Kirishima was in a good mood.

Sure enough, just when Bakugo was about to lose patience and hunt his friend down himself, Kirishima himself came bursting through the door to the restaurant. From Bakugo's spot, he could tell he was out of breath, with red high in cheeks.

He was out of breath and his scarf wrapped twice around his neck. Bakugo hid a smirk behind his hand, knowing he was the reason behind Kirishima's frantic approach.

After all, he was an impatient bastard and his friend knew it.

Bakugo took a moment to observe Kirishima while he hadn't noticed Bakugo yet. Kirishima stood head and shoulders taller than most people, his fiery red hair distinctive.

It wasn't the only thing distinctive about his friend anymore though.

Far from being a fraction shorter than Bakugo himself like they had been back in their first year of school, Kirishima had sprouted like a piece of bamboo starting in their second year thanks to some really good advice from Recovery Girl and All Might on how to stimulate growth and build muscle. And although he'd never reached All Might or Fatgum heights, he'd achieved a respectable six and a half feet and had the muscle to go with it.

Bakugo himself was more than a little impressed with the transformation. Though he'd never admit that out loud.

True to his word, Kirishima had become an impenetrable wall of muscle that made him able to shrug off nearly anything. A valuable asset to any hero team, and a perfect counterbalance to Bakugo's own acrobatic style.

There were reasons why they worked so well together.

It didn't hurt at all that all that height and muscle looked incredibly good on him either.

He tugged his mind sharply away from that well traveled path as Kirishima's eyes alighted on him and a broad smile erupted on his face. Now was not the time for him to think about how good his friend looked. He had other, more important things to think about as Kirishima made his way over to their table.

Though that didn't stop his eyes from traveling appreciatively over the figure Kirishima cut anyway.

He managed to keep it from his face as the redhead settled down and smiled charmingly at their waitress as he ordered a glass of wine.

"'Bout time Shitty Hair." He snorted once the woman had left, taking a sip of his own glass, "I was starting to think I'd have to go hunt your dumbass down."

"Hey, you didn't exactly leave me a lot of time to get ready man." Kirishima chuckled, and eyed Bakugo intently, "What's the deal anyway? You don't normally like going out, let alone dressed up, and if it was an emergency we wouldn't be having dinner."

Bakugo conceded that with a tip of his head, privately pleased that Kirishima had picked up on all that. It seemed those observation and investigation lessons Fatgum had been giving him had helped the redhead's already surprising level of perception.

He supposed something had to make up for his academic idiocy in school.

He refrained from answering until the waitress had returned and they'd ordered.

"I have a business proposition for you." He replied once they were alone again, and smirked at the way Kirishima's eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"A business proposition?" He echoed, "Since when are you going into business?"

"Since now." Bakugo replied shortly, "I've got the money saved for my agency and I gave Jeanist my notice this morning."

Kirishima gaped at him in shock for several seconds before visibly shaking himself out of it, and leaned forward, "Alright, spill. What the hell have you got planned, and why haven't you told me before now?"

Hook.

Bakugo smirked as he leaned back into the booth, "You've known I wanted to start an agency since high school." He snorted, "That's not news."

"Well yeah, most of us do." Kirishima countered, waving his hand, "I mean, Midoriya and Todoroki already have. But you wouldn't pull me in unless you had something special in mind. Are you wanting to partner up permanently?"

Oh this was better than Bakugo had envisioned.

"Close." He replied, "I want to create a different kind of agency." He scowled a little at his glass, "The current system is bullshit. Pros only work together in a limited capacity or if there's an operation too big for one or two."

He glared up at Kirishima, "Just how much crap could've been avoided when we were kids if those assholes had bothered to work together regularly? Just how much could we avoid in the future if we had an agency with teams of pros ready for any kind of job?"

Kirishima sucked in a surprised breath and Bakugo tugged on the line a little more.

"How much less bullshit would've happened with the League after..." He paused and sucked in a breath, the old guilt flaring up a little, "...after All Might retired if we'd had people who knew how to work together actually fucking doing their jobs right?"

"What about being number one?"

The soft question stabbed right through Bakugo's guilt, and he flashed his friend a glare, "I'm still gonna be number one Shitty Hair!" He growled lowly, "And don't you ever forget that! Just 'cause I wanna do things different doesn't mean I'm not the fucking best!"

An utterly disarming smile flashed over Kirishima's face at that and it sent a sharp shiver up Bakugo's spine. Almost at once his temper cooled like a soothing balm over it, and Bakugo was left silently cursing at how easy it was for Kirishima to pinch off his fuse.

Bakugo tried and barely managed to keep his expression neutral, his heart squeezing traitorously tight in his chest. Damn it.

"That sounds more like the Bakugo I know" Kirishima said cheerfully, his dark red eyes sparkling with the sort of dumb sunshine people like him were made from, "I'm surprised you want to do a partner agency. That doesn't sound like you at all."

Bakugo lifted a shoulder and glanced away from those open eyes. His eyes scanned the window outside, using the time to collect his thoughts.

"It's a dumb practice to stubbornly stick to acting solo when the world is moving towards partners. The faster you see the changing times, the better you can carve out a place for yourself at the top" Bakugo spoke sharply, his chin landing on his fist and glare pointed at Kirishima. He was daring his friend to disagree with him.

"That's not an excuse to slack off though, I'm not going to have any wannabe losers coming in to drag me down," Bakugo snarled slowly, "I want only the best and they better be able to keep up with me."

A fangy smile broadened Kirishima's face, something shimmering in the back of his eyes that looked a lot like happiness.

"So you picked me to open up this agency, huh Blasty?" He asked, cutting straight to the core of the matter in a way that Bakugo hoped he wouldn't notice.

Because shit, he was right. Bakugo wanted the absolute fucking best working with him and that meant Kirishima. When Bakugo didn't respond quickly enough, Kirishima took that as an affirmation.

"Awe Bakugo that's so sweet! That gets me right-" Kirishima made a motion of thumping himself right in the center of his broad chest, "-here."

"Die," Bakugo growled at him half-heartedly, his jaw locking in place.

He gave Kirishima an expectant glower, waiting for his answer to his proposal. Everyone seemed so damn interested in his own reasoning, but at least Kirishima did him the goddamn honor of not implying Deku was the reason for him wanting his own agency.

But all Bakugo was interested in right now was Kirishima and his answer.

Part of him, a small stupid side of him, wished Kirishima would say no. Say no with a soft smile and quiet, flattered laugh so not to wound their friendship. Bakugo would understand if he wanted to go pro solo. Red Riot was good enough on his own to do it. Even if he didn't have the flashiest quirk, his very presence was larger than life. He could easily be in the top ten on his own.

But if Kirishima said yes, and Bakugo couldn't keep his stupid feelings inside from spilling out- that could cause irreparable damage to not only their friendship, but the agency as well.

Then just don't fucking shit where you eat. Bakugo told himself angrily. Lock it down.

Kirishima was qualified, complimented his own quirk, they had experience working together, and Bakugo's own feelings aside, they were a force to be reckoned with. He wasn't a high school student with a crush anymore. He could keep their friendship and maintain a strictly professional relationship.

But it depended on Kirishima's answer.

"Yeah lets do it," Kirishima gave him a glowing smile, "That's why you called me here. You want me to start the agency with you right, as partners?"

"That's what I fucking said, isn't it Kirishima?" Bakugo demanded, but was secretly glowing by Kirshima's easy acceptance.

The waitress brought their food out and Bakugo allowed himself a triumphant smirk as they settled back to tuck in. He could've done this without Kirishima, but somehow it felt a whole lot better to have the other man at his side. Like it guaranteed his success somehow. Which was stupid, but there it was anyway.

"So what plans have you made for location and all that other stuff?" Kirishima asked after a few moments of savoring his dinner, "And who else did you have in mind?"

Quietly thrilled that Kirishima was so easily following his lead, when he knew his friend was anything but complacent, Bakugo allowed himself a few moments to savor the feeling as he took a sip of wine, "Well..."

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_**Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story! Please let us know what you think by leaving us a comment! We will see you soon!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Alright guys! Here's chapter two! Updates will be every Monday and Friday! Let us know what you think!**_

CHAPTER 2

Kirishima grunted a little as he set one of the boxes down in his new apartment.

After going through all the, endless, paperwork they'd been officially licensed as an agency that specializes in teams. The idea had raised more than one eyebrow, but the government had readily accepted the new idea and had generously allocated them an area not far from UA.

He blinked as his phone rang and fumbled a little to pick it up, "Hey Midoriya!" He greeted happily, "What's up?"

_"Kirishima!"_ Midoriya replied, _"Congratulations on going pro! Shouto and I heard about you setting up an agency with Kacchan…"_

"My lips are sealed Midoriya." Kirishima replied in amusement, "Bakugo's got one hell of a plan, but no matter what rumors you've heard I'm not saying a word until we're ready to open."

_"Aw, that's no fun!"_ Midoriya laughed, not at all ashamed at having been called out, _"But seriously, congratulations to both of you. We'd like to do something to celebrate if possible. D'you think Kacchan would be open to dinner or something?"_

Probably not, but Kirishima wasn't going to say that outright.

"Midoriya you know how he is." He replied, "You'd have to practically get the whole class together to convince him it was worth his time. And anyway, we're both going to be really busy for the next few weeks as it is."

_"Of course." _Todoroki chimed in, alerting Kirishima that he'd been listening in, _"Still, that might not be impossible. Tokoyami and some of the others are getting ready to go pro from what we've heard."_

"If you can make it work by all means." Kirishima shrugged, "I'll try to talk him into it if you can. Until then, no promises."

_"Understood."_ The two replied in stereo, which was vaguely terrifying, before Midoriya practically smiled through the phone, _"We won't keep you from your work anymore Kirishima. Congratulations again!"_

Kirishima smiled fondly as the call disconnected and tucked the phone away to head back down for another box. He blinked a little as he turned to find Bakugo lounging in the doorway watching him.

"Deku wants to fucking celebrate huh?"

Kirishima snorted a laugh, not surprised the blond had caught on or had been stealthily eavesdropping, "Yeah. And he was fishing for info on the agency. Though not real hard." He cocked an eyebrow, "You know he's probably going to actually get everyone together now right?"

Bakugo shrugged a little, "I won't mind." He replied, "It'd fucking save us a lot of trouble if we could scout that way."

"True." Kirishima agreed as he moved for the door and Bakugo moved to let him out, falling easily into step beside him as they headed down into what would become the heart of the agency. It was a little strange to think he'd be living with Bakugo on top of their own agency, but really it was their only option at the moment.

Best Jeanist had been extremely generous with Bakugo's final paycheck, much to his partner's rage, and it had allowed them to get a prime spot with room for expansion, but there was no way they could manage separate housing as well, so they'd converted everything but the top floor and kept that as their personal space.

It was easily one of the nicest places Kirishima had ever lived regardless.

"Speaking of scouting..." He said as he hefted another box from the moving van with his stuff in it, "I've already put some feelers out with Fatgum's help. He was thrilled with the idea of what we're doing so he promised to get us profiles of potential recruits for the price of letting him be the first to copy the idea once we go public."

He eyed Bakugo's thoughtful frown and shrugged a little around his box, "I didn't think you'd mind much since we'd still have the distinction of being first."

"What do I care?" Bakugo snorted after a moment of consideration. Kirishima watched his sharp eyes narrow and a crease formed between his eyebrows.

"We'll do it better than Fatgum anyway, he can jump on the bandwagon after the wheels have fallen off," Bakugo flashed Kirishima a vicious smile that gave him pause.

Kirishima spotted Bakugo grabbing another box, almost toppling over under the weight of it. He smothered a laugh as Bakugo centered his weight and glared murderously at the box in his hands.

"What the fuck is in here, an entire weight rack?" He demanded, giving Kirishima an outraged glare.

Kirishima this time couldn't smother the laugh when warmth filled his chest. It really was a few plates for his dumbbells when he worked out, but watching a swearing and cursing Bakugo drag it inside was just funny. Kirishima didn't dare offer him help.

Bakugo was hardly weak after all, he had a powerful back, shoulders and core thanks to his ability to withstand the force of his own explosions. He had powerful thighs and a strong lower body to throw his quirk around, but he was never meant to plant himself and take hit after hit. No he was an aerial fighter, and it was a necessity for him to be effective, however he was far leaner than Kirishima, capable of much more flexibility.

Not that Kirishima paid attention to such things...

His eyes fell over Bakugo's back as he carried the weights inside, taking the chance to make sure he didn't hurt himself carrying them in. Closely.

Kirishima told himself it was totally fine to watch Bakugo so intent, they were living together after all. Warmth brightened his cheeks, and Kirishima was grateful he was walking behind Bakugo.

The rest of the time was spent moving his stuff in from the moving van, Kirishima would unpack later once they got things rolling for their agency.

-::-

Three weeks later Kirishima was hovering somewhere between euphoria and total exhaustion.

They'd spent most of those three weeks getting the agency ready, and he honestly couldn't recall a time he'd been so busy since school. The paperwork and property had only been the first obstacle. Then had come modifying and kitting the place out, setting up some goodwill with their neighbors, and finding people to help run the place.

By both law and tradition, sidekicks helped pros run their agencies, but neither of them could really afford sidekicks at the moment, and had struggled to do things themselves until their old homeroom teacher had abruptly shown up at their door.

It seemed the rumors had spread like wildfire among the hero community that the two new pros were taking a somewhat radical approach to agency building and Aizawa had decided to do some digging. It was probably the least surprising thing to happen since Bakugo had invited him to dinner to discover the underground hero had shamelessly dug out their paperwork.

More surprising than anything was that the older pro had shown up with an offer of help.

He'd mercilessly organized his current homeroom class to assist them with the setup as a 'real life exercise' that had left him and Bakugo somewhat torn between wanting to refuse, sympathy for his students, and quiet awe at their teacher's level of sadism.

It was nothing new really, they had been subjected into doing this themselves while they were at UA, but surely the class was being punished for something if he'd saddled them with weeks of drudge work to be done in a single week?

Neither one of them had had the courage to ask though.

Once the dust had settled Aizawa had smirked at the final result and asked what kind of talent they were looking for. A question that had led to the man's sidekick, Shinsou, getting hired, and a veritable avalanche of applications from other sidekicks looking to go pro.

He was eternally grateful Bakugo had planned everything out to the last detail before starting this or he was certain they'd still be struggling with the deluge.

As it was he was half dozing off into his drink at the celebratory unveiling of their brand new agency: Zero Riot.

"You alright there Kirishima?" A bright voice asked and he blinked as he realized Jirou was grinning at him in amusement, "You look totaled."

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to say stuff like that to your new boss." He teased back, "And I'd like to see you process two hundred some odd applications in less than two weeks without being tired."

"You know me better than that." She snorted back, "And I remember you back when you were still short. I think I have a hell of a lot more leeway than anyone else."

"I was _never_ short thank you!" Kirishima gasped in mock indignation, "Midoriya and Mineta were the short ones!"

"True." Jirou conceded as she made herself comfortable next to him, "When do you think the business will start coming in now that we're open?"

"According to Bakugo we'll start patrols tomorrow. After that, we'll see." Kirishima shrugged, "We're still trying to organize teams, and until we start making money we can't afford to hire too many." He shrugged, "I imagine that'll change once our reputations grow."

A small commotion caught his attention and he looked up, half expecting to see Bakugo getting into it with Midoriya. Those two had slowly healed most of the hurts between them over the last few years, but it had been an uphill battle and they were still prone to butting heads at the drop of a hat.

It turned out to be nothing of the kind. Kaminari was attempting to drunkenly climb onto a table while a mortified Tokoyami dragged him back off. He snorted in amusement and absently scanned the place for his partner only to feel his heart stutter in his chest as Bakugo walked through the door.

Just like with the dinner, Bakugo had elected to dress up a little, and Kirishima was absolutely certain he'd never seen anything hotter in his life.

The time with Best Jeanist had done wonders for his friend's image, and he played the bad boy to perfection as he prowled in, smirking as he was aware of every eye on him. The utter bastard. He'd probably planned his entrance for exactly this moment too.

So much for thinking Bakugo would slouch in and sulk in a corner until Kirishima himself had to pry him from it.

"Hey pikachu, get off the fucking table that's not for your disgusting feet," Bakugo growled, his voice a low and husky tenor that made something in Kirishima squeak.

Bakugo was addressing the gathered heroes, his voice sharp and almost as unyielding as Kirishima's Unbreakable. He was certain it was going to be an offensive speech, but luckily everyone gathered around them already knew of Bakugo already.

Not everyone gathered was part of their agency though, for example Midoriya, Todoroki, and Iida, who were here for the party. Courtesy of Kirishima's invitation.

Kirishima let his mind wander to Bakugo, whose rough voice was soft and attention grabbing. He really had changed over the years, with a strong jaw, wicked eyes and a smirk that promised quiet, dangerous things in the dark.

It was the same smile Kirishima had fallen for in high school. He couldn't help it. Bakugo was the very definition of manly, living life fiercely and with every ounce of passion fueling his body. He was strong, straight forward, and everything about him seemed to appeal to every part of Kirishima.

Kirishima mashed a hand to his cheek and sighed as he felt his skin prickle with warmth.

It was a dangerous thought to admit to himself, but after being best friends with Bakugo for so long, his crush had never abated. Sure, Kirishima had dated people before since he wasn't the type to pine without end, but it never lasted.

He thought he had been cured of his crush though.

Time and distance was supposed to be a cure to all that, right?

Well living with him in close proximity seemed to bring all of that right back to the forefront.

Damnit.

He managed to resist the urge to smash his head repeatedly against the counter as Bakugo talked, but it was a much nearer thing than he wanted to admit.

"Well that's a look I haven't seen in a while." Jirou muttered in an undertone, a knowing smirk on her lips, "I didn't know you were still carrying a torch."

"Shut up." He hissed back, "It's not like that."

Except it was, and when Bakugo's gaze landed on him there was something in it that sent a bolt of electricity shooting down his spine and straight to his groin.

He was in so much trouble.

The moment was broken as Iida enthusiastically congratulated them on their inspired idea, but the sensation lingered for far longer than Kirishima wanted to admit.

Thankfully his time working with Fatgum had taught him how to smile and nod even when he was five seconds away from passing out in exhaustion, and he shamelessly called on the skill as he worked through the congratulations with a grin that was totally honest if somewhat tired.

That was his part of the job after all. Handling the people. Not just the ones who worked for them, but all aspects.

Mercifully, their friends were sensitive to just how grueling the last few weeks had been, and that they would be starting official duties the next day, so the party didn't last much longer before they broke it up and headed home.

"I think that went well." He commented as he and Bakugo walked back, "Rumor has it the entire hero community is buzzing openly about us now that we're open." He flashed his friend a grin and tried not to think about how very nicely Bakugo's clothes fit, "Looks like we turned everyone on their ear."

Bakugo only grunted back in response, his face as unreadable as ever. There was a tiredness around the corners of his eyes that betrayed his exhaustion. Even with every detail planned out to its last nuance, Bakugo was just as worn out. After all he had taken care of all the mindless administrative stuff Kirishima would never be able to focus on.

They made their way back to their agency, and by extension their home. Together they walked back in comfortable silence, heading up the stairs.

Kirishima immediately gravitated towards the couch and collapsed there, even when Bakugo made a noise of complaint.

"Hey Hair for Brains, don't sleep there. Your back will get all knotted up for patrol tomorrow," Bakugo growled, but Kirishima only whined back at him.

"Just five minutes Bakugo," he wheedled, and his partner snarled something under his breath.

"Whatever, do what you want," Bakugo drawled back as Kirishima closed his eyes. Just for a minute, he told himself.

He heard Bakugo depart the room, the sounds of his feet plodding quietly against the floor echoed in his mind. Distantly he heard the shower turn on, but the noises came slow and fuzzy in his mind.

-::-

_A burning mouth was pressing along his jaw, flashing eyes seared against his skin, and hot hands dragged over his chest. Kirishima felt the touches rattle against his soul._

_Legs were tangled together, arms wrapped around one another as a familiar head of blond hair filled his vision._

_"Eijirou.."_

_Bakugo was settled on top of him, rough hands mapping out every sensitive vulnerability on Kirishima's body with an expertise that left him breathless. His hands buried into his red hair and Bakugo leaned over him, sharp teeth punishing into his ear._

"_Eijirou," He groaned like the sweetest of chorus and Kirishima wanted to drown in that lust roughened voice, dripping with temptation._

"_Kirishima_"

The voice came firmer, this time with a familiar, rougher edge to it.

"Get your ass up!" Bakugo's hand yanked at Kirishima's tie, ripping him from his sleep and snapping his attention towards him.

Kirishima gasped as the dream filtered away as swiftly as it came, the cool forest floor falling away to the cushions of the couch he had stupidly fallen asleep on.

His eyes landed on Bakugo, attractive, unreachable, perfect Bakugo, who was scowling at him with the blazing fury of a thousand dying suns and not the desire found in a gas station pulp novel.

"What did I tell you about sleeping on the couch?" Bakugo snapped at him.

It was then Kirishima realized that Bakugo was in a crazed state of undress and black makeup smeared across his eyes.

"Uh?" He responded dumbly.

"There's a villain attack in downtown! Get your ass up idiot and get dressed, we've got to move!" Bakugo snapped and walked away without hesitation.

Kirishima didn't stay long enough to see him go.

After so many emergencies at school and later with Fatgum he'd long since learned how to go from sleepy to high alert in seconds. He rolled off the couch and sprinted for his room where he all but dove into his hero costume before rushing back out the door.

"What do we know?" He asked crisply as he tugged a sleeve into place, "And how far away are we?"

"About three blocks, and I have no fucking idea." Bakugo growled, "Deku was the one who sent the fucking alert to everyone."

Shit. That was bad.

Midoriya had gotten a lot better about calling for help ever since their first training camp, but he and Todoroki were a hell of a team. If this was something those two not only couldn't handle, but were calling everyone in for, then they were probably heading straight into a disaster.

He silently prayed that there wouldn't be any Nomu, or anything similar, as they sprinted out into the night but his hopes quickly sank as he caught the telltale flicker of fire lighting the night air.

Whatever was going on it was either on a League of Villains scale, even though the League had been destroyed in their third year, or someone with an extremely dangerous quirk. Neither option was particularly attractive.

The answer, it turned out, was even more bizarre.

The entire area had been destroyed, but it wasn't from the villain. It was from Todoroki.

"Damnit Deku!" Bakugo roared once they arrived, "What the fuck is IcyHot doing?"

"It's not him!" Midoriya cried back, "He faced off with the villain and suddenly went down! Somehow the it's affecting him and he lost control of his quirk! I can't calm him down and deal with the villain at the same time, and there are civilians trapped in these buildings!"

"Right." Bakugo growled, "You deal with fucking IcyHot. Red Riot and I will deal with this asshole. Tell Earphone Jack to start rescue when she gets here. Got it?"

"Got it." Midoriya replied and shifted his attention to calming his hysterical boyfriend down.

Kirishima hardly spared them a glance, trusting Midoriya to be able to handle things from there, as he prowled up next to his partner, "Plan?"

"Blow his fucking face off." Bakugo snarled murderously, "His quirk probably works on eye contact. Like some kind of fucking mind control. If the fucker can't see he can't use it. Follow my lead and don't look him directly in the eyes."

It made sense too. Todoroki was a long distance fighter, one that complimented Deku's close combat. Any quirk that required being fired off would be easily deflected with his ice or flames.

But eye contact... Kirishima was awed as always by Bakugo's quick analysis on the little information he was provided.

Kirishima sprinted after Bakugo, the others explosions rocketing him through the air. He spiraled out of sight, leaving Kirishima to handle the groundwork.

Todoroki had made one hell of a mess to be sure, but it seemed like it infuriated Bakugo even more.

The only one who was allowed to mess with his fellow pros was Bakugo.

The villain whose quirk was causing all the damage was nearby, another pro with a strength quirk smashing rock and concrete to pieces. Kirishima swore as the hero wailed and cried, much like an infant throwing a temper tantrum. And for a pro hero, that was bad.

"Crap!" Kirishima stopped, twisting around and pivoting to change trajectory. He ran after the pro who was smashing up an area with civilians, hurtling himself towards the man and sending him out of the way.

Swearing up a storm and knowing he had to prioritize rescue over fighting, he planted himself in front of the bawling, angry hero and activated his quirk.

"Get to safety, I'll take care of this big guy no sweat!" Kirishima slammed his fists together with a bright smile, reassuring the civilians.

The hero didn't stop though, coming at Kirishima with all the unbridled rage of a toddler.

"Come on man! Snap out of it!" Kirishima grunted at him, holding steady as the hero attempted to break him. Not a chance.

He wouldn't break.

Not with civilians trying to evacuate and a villain on the loose. No, Kirishima refused to crumble.

He gripped onto the hero's hands, forcing him back with a strangled snarl of his own locked firmly with him to buy the others time.

At least that was the plan.

"Oh my, another hero to add to my collection?" A voice asked, unfamiliar and sickeningly sweet. Kirishima kept his eyes locked forward on his current opponent, feeling with cold certainty that this villain was going to suck dealing with.

Bakugo's voice rang in his ears, not to make eye contact with him.

But damn if that wasn't proving hard already when Kirishima was locked in an arm wrestling match with another pro.

"Not going to say anything to me? That's pretty rude for a hero," the man purred to Kirishima, inching in closer to him, "look at me."

Kirishima refused, pushing the hero back another step, baring sharp teeth.

He felt the sharp point of a knife trail along his side, useless against his tough quirk.

"You expect that to work?" Kirishima demanded, focusing on his task.

"I suppose not, but I could just kill one of these civilians instead. One of them will surely look at me," he whispered into Kirishima's ear.

Ice settled hard and cold in his stomach, self-doubt filtering through over his inability to protect these people when he just couldn't move. He ground his fangs together, knowing the villain had no real interest in the innocents. Only the heros.

How many pros did he have under his control, or had been reduced to this state? This pro didn't look like he was following commands, just acting out of childlike rage.

The villain was stepping back from Kirishima now, his gaze locked on the side of his face. He couldn't let this villain make him lose control like that, it would spell disaster for anyone who came near him or his dangerous quirk.

Instinctively, Kirishima knew the villain was taking strides towards the civilians, and his head turned to stop him.

Only for him to notice the villains back was towards him.

"Hey you babysitter reject, that's _my_ partner!"

And Bakugo, explosive, angry Bakugo, was rocketing in front of the villain with his hand extended outwards towards his face. An explosion fired off around their bodies, blowing up a cloud of dust to serve as a smoke screen.

Kirishima used that moment to slam his skull into the hero's he wrestled with, knocking him out with a shouted apology.

He herded the civilians who had previously been frozen with terror to safety.

Once they were in the safe zone, where Midoriya was coordinating rescue and relief while a furiously blushing Todoroki put out his fires, he turned back to the explosions sounding from within the dust cloud.

"Is that everyone?" He demanded despite his itch to rush back in and help his partner.

"Yes!" Jirou panted, her earlobes plugged into the ground, "All the civilians have been evacuated and Shouto is clearing the fires. Ambulance and fire crews are on the way."

"Good." Kirishima growled, "Stay here and coordinate relief with Deku. I'm going to go help Ground Zero out."

"You got it!" She acknowledged, but Kirishima didn't waste time looking before he dove back into the cloud, the itch to help heightening into an outright demand. Bakugo's blasts had gotten more frequent and less precise, which could only mean his partner was having a hard time landing a hit on the slippery bastard. Whoever this villain was he was definitely not an amateur, and that made him twice as dangerous.

He squinted against the dust as it enveloped him and rushed towards the epicenter, his ears sharp for both his partner and the villain, "The civilians have been cleared!" He called, "And the police have set up a barricade!"

It was a risk, he knew, telling them both that information, but it was one they had to take. Bakugo was still developing communication and signaling codes for the teams, and without being able to see there was no way Bakugo would've known.

"Oh such a pity..." The villain's voice crooned, disturbingly close by, "I had hoped to play for a little longer. I quite like your quirks."

"You're not gonna be playing anyone asshole!" Bakugo raged as a much larger blast rattled the ground, "Red Riot! Shield and Sword!"

"You got it!" He called back and smirked wickedly as he pushed his quirk to his maximum and dropped into a slight crouch. This was one of their older techniques, from back in their school days, but that didn't make it any less effective.

He would settle his weight and become an immovable rock for Bakugo to use as cover while his partner unleashed hell on their opponent. Or, as in this case, he would become a battering ram to charge in whatever direction Bakugo indicated. Risky perhaps with the dust in the air, but it was their best option.

He felt a gloved hand on his shoulder weighted by the familiar shape of a bracer Kirishima could recognize anywhere, even with all the dust around.

"Close your eyes," Bakugo grunted into his ear, his warm, raspy voice coiling warmth through Kirishima. At once he obeyed, knowing instinctively what his partner was about to go.

The explosion that went off next created an updraft that blew the dust away. That was not why Bakugo had him close his eyes.

The next one that went off burned the backs of his eyelids, and the intensity of the light from Bakugo's light grenade would be enough to blind anyone.

Snapping his eyes open, Kirishima noted the way Bakugo's own eyes were screwed shut to avoid being blinded by his own attack. The villain let out a shout of pain and he lashed out with a knife blindly, aiming to drive it into the meat of Bakugo's side. Kirishima was faster though, prepared. If Bakugo was the sword, than Kirishima was the shield and he snapped his arm around Bakugo. The knife drove point deep into Kirishima's hardened arm, the sound of metal twisting harmlessly away was enough for Bakugo to smirk and snap his eyes open.

He threw his hand forward, blasting the villain backwards with such impressive force that Kirishima might have fallen a little more in love with Bakugo. Talk about manly.

Kirishima released his quirk and gave Bakugo a thumbs up, who sighed and straightened. It would be hard for anyone other than Kirishima to notice, but Bakugo was flexing his fingers through his gloves, working feeling back into then. They were shock absorbers, but he had seriously worked himself overtime making all those explosions earlier.

Deciding not to comment on it, Kirishima approached the villain they took down, "Lets restrain him and get a visor on this guy."

His eyes were on Bakugo, so Kirishima didn't notice how the villain twitched, his eyes slowly opening behind his lashes. All Kirishima became aware of was Bakugo's suddenly frantic face as he pushed Kirishima to the side.

There was a slice of some red and wet that went through the air, and Kirishima went still and shocked when he saw Bakugo's body go rigid. There was a flash of silver in the villains hand, who hadn't gone down for as long as Kirishima expected.

He couldn't see Bakugo's injury, but he could see the shake in his partners forearm as his eyes instinctively, and by instinct alone, snapped into the face of his attacker.

Before Kirishima could speak, to scream for him to close his eyes, a shimmer of white light curled over Bakugo's body and he was releasing the villain.

There seemed to be a shift in Bakugo's shoulders, as if something was causing his body to seize up. His hand clenched, an explosion rocketing off and sending up an obscuring dust cloud into the air.

The sound of the villain laughing as he made his escape rang in Kirishima's ears, but he paid him no mind. He raced towards Bakugo, where he could just make out the shape of his bent shoulders through the smoke.

"Ground Zero!" He shouted, dread pooling in his gut. If he had to fight Bakugo like he did that other hero, things were going to get messy.

But when the smoke cleared and Bakugo looked up at him with confused, but startling clear eyes, he let relief pulse through him for one second.

Until he saw what he was wearing.

Bakugo was shirtless, his built chest on display for Kirishima to gawk at, only a few beaded necklaces baring sharp fangs hanging against his skin.

A cloak was wrapped around his shoulders, a thick, fur cowl likely the only thing meant to keep him warm. There was a sharp, wildness in his eyes that was all too familiar, but tempered into a cutting edge like steel.

"Bakugo, are you okay? Man don't scare me like that!" Kirishima approached him hesitantly, not sure if his partner really was okay. Not with how he was suddenly dressed.

Bakugo stood up at his approach, standing tall and powerful like always. He said nothing, but he took two long strides forward to close the distance between them. A smirk was yanking at the corner of his lips, scarlet eyes practically glowing with inner flame. Kirishima felt his heart just stop in his chest entirely.

Bakugo's eyes swept over him, silently assessing and cataloguing, before he seemed to see something he liked.

In one motion, Bakugo reached up, his hand snapping around the back of Kirishima's neck and dragging him face forward. For a second, Kirishima thought his partner was going to scream in his face for letting the villain go, or not paying close enough attention-

Bakugo's lips found his.

In one soul shaking moment, Kirishima forgot how to breathe.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Bakugo's brain was confused.

One second he'd been in the middle of shoving Kirishima out of the way of a knife wielding villain and his quirk, and the next he was pinned underneath his friend as said friend did something positively obscene to his neck. Sharp teeth worried into his skin, leaving trails of fire that burned through his body. _Shit, it was nice._

He opened his mouth to demand to know just what the _actual _fuck was going on, but Kirishima chose that exact moment to plaster their lips together and all that came out was a groan as his brain short circuited.

It was better than he'd ever dreamed.

Kirishima's lips were soft and supple, which was a mild surprise considering his quirk, but even if they'd been chapped Bakugo would've given exactly no fucks because Kirishima's taste more than made up for it. Hot and spicy, like his favorite kind of food, and instantly addictive. Bakugo reacted on instinct and pulled his friend closer. Because if this was some kind of wild fever dream he was absolutely not going to pass up on a second of this.

He'd only been dreaming about it since high school.

He shivered as Kirishima chuckled darkly into their kiss, the sound going straight to his dick, and rubbed his hands along his sides. Gods, such a simple gesture and he was already fucking losing it.

However, it also broke the spell between them as he hissed as soon as Kirishima's fingers hit the place he'd been sliced by the villain. In the heat of the moment he'd forgotten all about it, and it came rushing back with a force that was jarringly painful.

"Fucking damnit!" He swore as he shoved Kirishima off and rolled to get the wound away so he could inspect it. That was when it registered that the wound was still bleeding, and more importantly he was out in the woods.

"What the-?" He asked, his shock and confusion mounting as he looked around only to gape as his eyes landed on Kirishima himself.

His friend was sitting there, looking concerned and as confused as he felt, but that wasn't the surprise. The surprise was the scattering of red scales over his mostly naked body, and the pair of actual horns twisting up in front of his hair.

_Just what the hell was going on here?!_

"Katsuki?" The scaly Kirishima asked with a frown of confusion, "Why are you suddenly dressed like that?"

Bakugo's mind ground to a halt at that, unable to process what he was seeing and hearing, as it dawned on him that he might be even more fucked than he'd thought he would be when he met the villain's eyes.

Bakugo didn't respond to Kirishima, turning away from him because seeing that much bare skin from his partner was not helping the clarity of his brain.

Was he dreaming? This felt an awful lot like a dream. Except he was bleeding and it hurt like an absolute bitch, so he couldn't be dreaming could he?

He felt a warm, large presence join him from behind. Bakugo whipped around to see Kirishima invading his personal space in the most direct way possible. Did the bastard not know what pants were? He knew he struggled with the basic concept of shirts, but what about the rest of his clothes?

"Katsuki?" Kirishima asked, this time his voice dropping lower in timbre. His warm, clawed hands fell against Bakugo's shoulders and out of reflex he shrugged them off.

"Fuck off, you aren't Kirishima," Bakugo spat back at the man, whose expression seemed to freeze. His eyes seemed to grow dark with worry and he held up his hands in a placating way that was so like Kirishima it made Bakugo want to explode.

"Katsuki, what's going on?" He asked warily, his scarlet eyes trailing down to his chest where the long gash the villain gave him bled sluggishly, "It's me, Eijirou. You know me."

"Is this a side effect from the witch you fought earlier? You said the battle went well but you're acting strangely," Kirishima spoke cautiously, taking a slow step forward as if Bakugo were a wild animal that was easy to spook. He bared his teeth in a heated snarl, hating to see Kirishima's face all twisted with worry.

"Witch, this has nothing to do with some goddamn hag," Bakugo snapped back at the man. He clenched his hand, an explosion rocketing from his curled fingers, "Back off."

That made Kirishima freeze, his eyes locked on Bakugo's hand. He straightened up, his concern still present but his mouth dropping open.

"Your magic, it's not-"

"You're not my Katsuki," Kirishima spoke up in shock, "you smell like him, act like him, but my Katsuki conjures fire. His magic doesn't explode."

Kirishima rubbed the back of his head and gave Bakugo a deeply distressed look, "oh man you must be so confused, huh Katsuki?"

"No shitty hair, I've got a couple of ideas on what could be going on right now," Bakugo fired back.

"Shitty Hair?" Eijirou echoed in amusement, "I guess some things don't change after all." He settled down, "Alright. What are your ideas then?"

Bakugo blinked a little at the easy acceptance, though he probably should've been expecting it if this really was some kind of version of Kirishima. Though he absolutely could've gone without realizing the smug bastard was sitting there, _still mostly naked and hard as a rock_, looking perfectly attentive.

He felt his face heat and the other Kirishima blinked slowly before glancing down. Understanding dawned and a positively wicked grin that was all teeth and not at all Kirishima like appeared. It completely fucked with Bakugo's ability to _breathe_.

"Yeah, I would apologize for that, but my version of Katsuki and I were playing before you appeared." The bastard replied without an ounce of shame, though there was more than a touch of regret, and dragged some article of clothing over his lap to cover it, "Better?"

"Much." Bakugo managed, sounding only slightly strangled thank you very much.

He took a moment to remind himself how to breathe and shook his head, completely unable to dispel the images that were etched permanently into his brain now, "Right... so either I'm fucking dreaming, I'm fucking insane, or that bastard villain's quirk fucked me up more than we thought it would."

"Okay." Eijirou replied slowly, "So you were in a fight in your world and the one you were fighting somehow made you switch places with my Katsuki?"

Bakugo scowled at the summary, irrationally annoyed that this Kirishima understood him as well as his own did, that was something reserved for _his_ Kirishima alone dammit, but nodded anyway.

"That's powerful magic." Eijirou hummed thoughtfully, "I have to wonder why it brought you to right here and now with such a perfect replacement for my Katsuki though?" Bakugo cocked his head slightly and Eijirou shrugged, "Transferal magic is difficult and imprecise."

He replied to the unspoken question and continued, "At best usually all you can do is target an area no smaller than twenty feet around. By rights there should've been no way to shift you the way you were. My Katsuki should've vanished from under me and you should've appeared somewhere else in this clearing."

Bakugo raised a slow eyebrow at that, his respect for the new Kirishima rising, "What else could've happened then?"

Eijirou shrugged, "I'm not sure." He confessed and then frowned thoughtfully, "I wonder..." He cocked his head slightly, "But surely such a thing is impossible...?"

"Spit it out already!" Bakugo snapped impatiently, "What are you thinking rocks for brains?"

"First, I'm a dragon not a rock spirit." Eijirou snorted, sounding offended at the very _idea_ he was being compared to a rock spirit, whatever the fuck that was, "And second... lemme check something..."

Both of Bakugo's eyebrows rose to his hairline as Eijirou prowled forward in a way that had starred in his wet dreams for years, and pressed his hand over his heart, "Soul of my soul and heart of my heart."

Bakugo scowled, his mouth opening to ask what the fuck the idiot was talking about _now_ when a shock traveled through him. It was like a pulse that rocked his soul, harder than one of Jirou's sonic attacks, and it left him breathless and feeling as though his very being was electrified. A gasp tore involuntarily from him as he stared up at Eijirou with wide eyes.

He slapped the dragon's hand off him, harder than intended and took a few jerking steps backwards. He bared his teeth, crackles popping from his fingers as his brain tried to figure out what in the actual hell that had been all about.

"What did you just do to me you scaled freak?" He hissed, resisting the urge to ball his fist over his heart and savor the tingling sensation that soared through his body. Kirishima didn't seem to mind, instead a dumb, glowing look seemed to light his eyes.

"You _are_ my Katsuki," he breathed out, awed and happy.

"No I'm not," Bakugo snarled back at him, doing his best not to get caught in the warm furnace of Kirishima's eyes, "answer my question or I swear I will blast you sky high."

He raised a hand to show he wasn't joking, but the infuriating dragon only seemed amused by his threats.

Boldly, the dragon closed the distance between then and cradled a hand into his cheek, "You're my soulmate Katsuki." A blushed worked high over his cheeks, and if Bakugo wasn't so flabbergasted he might even have found it endearing.

"You're the reincarnation of my Katsuki, I guess you got thrown into the past," Kirishima smiled, his teeth sharp but not even the slightest bit threatening.

It took Bakugo exactly three seconds to process that theory, understand it's reasoning, and then accept it for truth. Aside from the ringing in his own heart that seemed to fucking sting like an annoying pack of thumb tacks stabbing him in the arteries, based on what little he knew of the villains quirk, it seemed possible.

The hero Kirishima had fought had been reduced to the mindset of a toddler. Todoroki had apparently been inconsolable, but Bakugo admittedly did not know how well that turned out.

Other heroes Bakugo had run into when he had been separated from Kirishima were in similar states of infantilization.

"Fuck," he said in realization.

"Doubtful," Kirishima said wistfully, but with just enough sass that Bakugo nearly bit through his own damn tongue.

He hadn't been reduced to an infant because he had a past life. Which meant...

"You switched places with my Katsuki," the dragon huffed, his thumb trailing over Bakugo's cheek and causing a traitorous shudder to run down his spine and collect in his gut.

A motion that reminded him vividly that he had a sizeable gash on him as it flared sharply with pain. And though it wasn't exactly deep it had been bleeding this whole time. He hissed and knocked Eijirou's hand away.

"Cut that shit out." He snarled, "I've got more important shit to worry about." He tugged one of his gloves off with his teeth, "Like the fact I'm fucking bleeding all over the fucking place when there's a fucking villain out there that could hit my fucking Kirishima any damned second and I'm not there to watch his goddamn back!"

"But you _are _there idiot." Eijirou chuckled fondly, causing Bakugo's attention to snap back to him, "Or do you really think any version of you would let any version of _me _come to harm?"

Well... shit. The dumbass had a point. He'd developed enough self-awareness over his last few years of, sometimes painful, therapy to know he would explode any asshole that threatened Kirishima without hesitation.

That realization didn't help his nerves much though. Whoever the fuck he was in this time there was no doubt he was going to cause more problems than he solved. At least until he got the story straight. Then his other self might be helpful, but not until then.

Therefore the simplest solution was he needed to get back there as quickly as possible before his very obviously not-hero self completely wrecked everything he'd worked so hard for.

He tightened his bite on his glove as his wound complained again, the pain fast becoming unbearable only to jerk in surprise when a pale green stone was pressed to his side. He looked down in shock as it glowed a vivid forest green that trailed up and down the gash with a tingle that sort of reminded him of Recovery Girl's healing. In seconds it receded and the injury was no more.

Huh, that was actually really helpful.

He looked up as Eijirou slipped the little stone back into a pocket and started pulling his clothes back on.

"I can't blame you for being worried." The dragon explained, and flashed him a warm grin that made Bakugo's insides turn to mush, "I probably would be too if I didn't know my Katsuki so well. So let's get home and we'll start looking for a way to get you home."

"Wait, Kirishima-" Bakugo grunted and tapped his hand along the healed over injury. He was going to have to grab himself some of those damn glow sticks for his agency when he got a second.

The dragon paused and his lips curled up, "Just call me Eijirou, I can tell it's freaking you out to talk about two different Kirishima's."

Bakugo didn't know how he liked calling this dragon by his first name. It was so intimate, but he raised a good point. It was frustrating to know how he was able to read him so well. Bakugo was usually the one who could pick up on all of Kirishima's tells.

But it felt disorienting for things to be on the other foot.

"Fine, Eijirou," Bakugo spat his name trying to make it sound as abrasive as humanly possible. The dragon only smiled happily and it made his stomach wrench with feeling. Gross.

"You were camping out here in the middle of the woods, what were you doing?" Bakugo demanded, watching Eijirou cross his arms over his broad chest. His eyebrows rose up towards his horns and a sly smile drew over his face.

"Oh I would have thought that was _obvious _Katsuki," the smile he flashed Bakugo was all dark promise and wicked intentions. And shit if that didn't just wreck Bakugo's sense of control.

"Bakugo. Call me Bakugo, I'm not your Katsuki," he growled, deciding to draw the line in the sand right then and there. He was stronger than the temptation of this dragon. Eijirou was just like his Kirishima, but instead somehow had the poor taste to saddle himself with someone like Bakugo.

And as annoying as it was, he wasn't going to steal kisses from someone who didn't belong to him. He hadn't reached that level of pathetic yet.

Without waiting for Eijirou to comment on the name, he glared back at the dragon, "Your mission in the forest. You didn't just come out here to fuck on the pinecones did you?"

Eijirou frowned at him, for the first time since all this began looking worried.

"Well no," Eijirou shrugged, "We've been fighting an ongoing war with him for several years now. Katsuki and I were going to provide aid to Prince Shouto and Izuku. King Endeavors army was marching in from the south and they sent out a distress letter for air support."

"Ugh, Deku is here too?" Bakugo grunted in disgust. Because of course that nerd would somehow be here in this world too. He was probably just as annoying too. Even in a past life he couldn't be rid of him.

Eijirou looked amused by his reaction and nodded, "We were going to aid them. If their kingdom falls, then Katsuki knows that Endeavor will set his sights to the East. Our kingdom."

Bakugo sighed at that, his teeth grinding together in annoyance. Endeavor was of course an eternal thorn in their side, no matter which universe he landed in it seemed. So the Katsuki here had built himself a kingdom with a dragon for a partner. That made sense, and Bakugo wasn't the type to let something like that crumple on his watch.

He didn't want to owe Eijirou anything either.

"Then let's take care of that shit first. If those morons are anything like mine, then they won't be able to handle anything without it all going to shit," Bakugo growled.

Eijirou smiled, but Bakugo could tell he was trying very hard not to.

"What about your Kirishima?" He asked, his eyes sweeping up and down Bakugo.

The scowl that Bakugo shot at Kirishima was hot enough to peel the bark off a tree.

"Did you lie about your Katsuki? Don't tell me he's actually fucking useless and can't cover Kirishima's back," Bakugo growled at him, "because I'll be pissed. Besides, unless you have a witch or something that can send me back to my time, then there's no damn point in backtracking."

"No witches unfortunately, this is magic out of my realm of expertise." Eijirou snorted, "And I would never lie about Katsuki, my future self couldn't ask for anyone better to watch his back." His lips twitched in amusement, "Though I make no promises on his virtue."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Bakugo raged, genuine anger hitting him for the first time since this very surreal situation had developed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Eijirou asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The fuck it is!" Bakugo snapped, his palms reflexively crackling.

Eijirou sighed and shook his head, "I told you." He replied slowly, "We're soulmates. Katsuki and I bonded our hearts and souls together over ten years ago. We wanted to ensure there was no way anything, not even death or time, could separate us." He stepped up to Bakugo, and for the first time Bakugo realized that Eijirou was actually several years his senior.

He was almost the same height and build as his Kirishima. He was a little taller, a little broader, but there was an experience in his gait, a confidence, that hadn't entirely developed in Kirishima. It was a little like watching the way Aizawa, Best Jeanist, or some of the older pros moved. A predator always alert for attack and always deadly. Even when they were being friendly.

Eijirou had seen battle. Lots of it. And he bore the scars to prove it. There was something in his gaze that spoke of a man who had seen the best and worst of humanity, and though neither he nor Kirishima had many illusions, he was absolutely certain they couldn't match the experience in Eijirou's eyes.

"We were the one really good thing either of us had back then." Eijirou continued softly, "The only thing that made us happy. We couldn't bear the thought of losing that." And fuck if that didn't sound like a story he could relate to, "So we chose to bond ourselves."

He met Bakugo's eyes intently, "Across all lifetimes Bakugo. For all eternity. No matter which version of you I see, you're still mine. And I'm his. Yours. Do you understand?"

Bakugo felt like he was burning beneath the weight, the _truth_ of those words. Eijirou seemed so certain of it, but Bakugo didn't know how he could match that steadfast belief.

Twisted together and tightly bound, Bakugo had accepted the fact he had fallen for his dumb partner long ago. Across all lifetimes.

It sounded like a fairy tale.

"Whatever," he grunted instead. He couldn't scoff at the sheer depth of the statement Eijirou made even if it sounded like something out of one of the Hallmark movies Ururaka seemed to enjoy.

It was dumb. It was ridiculous.

It was goddamn romantic, and the intensity Eijirou spoke with - that confidence. It was attractive.

And for a moment Bakugo almost believed it.


	4. Chapter 4

So on a scale of one to ten on a level of embarrassment, going Unbreakable when being kissed by a long time crush, sit Kirishima solidly at a 1000.

Bakugo was staring at him in confusion, his brow furrowed and a hand raised to his now bleeding lip. Kirishima felt like he was going to die right then and there, wishing the earth could swallow him whole.

He dropped his quirk at once, reaching back for his partner, panic in his eyes, "Oh shit- Bakugo I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

"It's fine," Bakugo finally spoke, his voice huskier than Kirishima remembered, and far less explosive than he expected. He hadn't even sworn once yet.

His calculating eyes scanned his surroundings, taking in the buildings and ruins. His dark eyes fell back onto Kirishima, catching him in their hold.

"I'm Bakugo Katsuki," he introduced himself, making Kirishima wonder if perhaps his partner had hit his head when he wasn't looking.

"Bro, I know that. Come on, you're really freaking me out, let's get you to triage," Kirishima approached the calm Bakugo as if he were a feral animal.

His movements seemed to only serve to amuse Bakugo, a wicked smirk flashing over his face that was filled with so much heat, Kirishima thought his skin would boil.

"I'm not the Bakugo Katsuki that you're familiar with," The rough looking man spoke evenly, advancing towards Kirishima fearlessly. His strides were aggressive and familiar, but with a predatory sway that made Kirishima's throat tie in a knot.

"I suspect I'm in the future," he grabbed Kirishima roughly by the back of his neck, almost making him think he'd be dragged back into another kiss. His stomach flopped, Kirishima telling himself that it was _totally normal to be this close_.

"Spit it out Eijirou, what year is this?" He demanded, as if he expected nothing but his immediate response.

"2-2019." Kirishima managed to stammer out with barely a waver to his voice. He was still extremely confused, unsure what was happening when Bakugo seemed to have everything figured out.

"The _far_ future then," He confirmed and lifted his other hand to frame Kirishima's face. Those deadly hands were shockingly gentle against his face, and Kirishima became quickly aware of the audience that was beginning to gather. People were already beginning to pull out their camera phones.

Bakugo stepped into his space, his body pressing into Kirishima's in a way that made his mouth go dry. His body was hot. So hot and his hands branded into his skin. His bare chest, covered with beaded necklaces and fur lining his shoulders dragged over Kirishima's and sparked through his blood like one of Kaminari's attacks.

He felt something hot pulsing between their bodies, the subtle grind of something hard and thick in Bakugo's pants that pressed into Kirishima. His mind went numb with arousal and heat, Bakugo's lips tracing into his jaw like he did in Kirishima's most sensual dreams.

It took everything in him to grab Bakugo by the shoulder and pull him back by arms length, the man looking faintly confused as he was held at a distance.

"Wow! You're the best and doing totally fine!" Kirishima blurted loudly to the spying cameras, causing Bakugo to frown and give him a worried look.

"Eijiro, why are you talking so loud," He muttered, looking a little concerned and pissed off, "Did you hit your head?"

He reached out to touch Kirishima's forehead, in a gesture that was shockingly tender that under any circumstances would have Kirishima singing in joy. Right now though, with the world watching them on the verge of their first mission as a new agency, this is the sort of thing that could break them forever and stop their progress right in their tracks.

He didn't know what was going on exactly, but he knew Bakugo would never forgive himself for creating a scandal in the first day Zero Riot was open. If Kirishima didn't put a hard stop to this now, they were in deep shit.

"I'm fine but I get the feeling you're not," Kirishima lowered his voice and gripped Bakugo's hand before he could comb his fingers through his hair, "Bakugo please. I'm not sure what's going on, but we have an audience and you're freaking me out."

"Eijiro-," Bakugo rumbled, those clever eyes flashed around them and he slowly lowered his hand. Clearly he was reassessing their surroundings, his skeptical gaze on the camera phones and the odd murmurings people were having about Ground Zero's new hero costume. He seemed to think better of what he was going to say, "Fine. I'll leave this to you. There's clearly something else going on I'm not damn well fully understanding."

Somewhat relieved, Kirishima refused to let go of Bakugo's hand as he waved to the reports and ran off to find one of their heroes. He luckily spotted Jirou not too far away and beelined it to her.

At their approach, and Bakugo's clear state of undress, she pulled herself away from where she had been organizing clearing efforts with Tokoyami.

"Alright, I take it that's not a fashion choice," Jirou muttered and gave Bakugo a severe look. The man looked at her fiercely, his scowl deepening with dislike and his chin raising.

"I'm not commenting on your wardrobe Kyoka," Bakugo snapped at her, ignoring the way both her eyebrows raised behind her bangs.

"Did he just-?"

"Bakugo was hit by the villains quirk and he's acting really strangely. I need to get him out of here before he attracts the wrong sort of attention we need fresh out the gate," Kirishima pleaded with Jirou, who hummed and crossed her arms thoughtfully.

"The alley is clear," Tokoyami spoke up, nodding towards the side alley that Kirishima hadn't noticed previously, "If you two are quick, the press won't even notice you two slipping out. We can give statements on your behalf, but you'll need to give a formal one later."

"Be quick, we can distract the press for you," he added.

"Thanks man, you guys are the best!" Kirishima breathed in relief and grabbed Bakugo's hand, dragging him through the alleyway and out of the line of sight.

"Man they'd have a field day with you if those vultures get their hands on you," He took the shortcut provided and dragged Bakugo further. They practically ran all the way back to their agency, Kirishima shoving a protesting Bakugo into their shared loft.

He slammed the door shut behind them, his chest heaving and internally swearing up a storm.

Kirishima looked across the darkened room to where Bakugo was standing shadowed by the balcony window. He swallowed tight, those red eyes practically sparking in the rising early morning light.

The battle had dragged on much longer than he had originally thought because the sun was much higher in the sky, casting the room in a darker haze.

Kirishima was suddenly pinned down by that fierce, wild gaze. He suddenly remembered the smokey feel of his lips, pliant, perfect and all consuming.

Before he damn near almost ripped his lip off.

"Alright now Eijirou," Bakugo walked towards him, and despite being taller than Bakugo by at least half a foot, he felt like he was being crowded against the door.

"How about that damn talk?" He purred, dropping a hand on the wall next to his head, causing Kirishima's mouth to go very dry.

"Right, so you said you weren't my Bakugo?" Kirishima babbled, his eyes wide as he tried to distract this version of his partner that seemed wholly interested in getting way up in Kirishima's face.

"Yeah," Bakugo grumbled, sliding in closer to Kirishima's neck, "What do I get if I answer your questions?"

"Peace of mind and a sense of justice?" Kirishima tried.

"Boring," Bakugo said lazily.

"Come on dude, help me out, I'm trying to figure this weird situation out," Kirishima choked, not having pegged Bakugo for the teasing type.

Bakugo raised a single, slightly incredulous, eyebrow at him with a look on his face that Kirishima was all too familiar with. The one that asked if he was really serious and subtly questioned the level of his intelligence if he seriously didn't know the answer.

He'd seen it many times over the years. Most often in study sessions.

He flushed under the look, his cheeks burning brightly and he shot his... friend?... friend's counterpart?... whatever this Bakugo was a pout, "Look man, I know this is obvious as hell to you, but I've had a rough day already. We just spent the last three weeks opening our own agency, had a party last night to celebrate, and all of a sudden I'm getting woken up by the Bakugo I know to go fight a villain."

His look turned exasperated, "The next thing I know I'm up to my eyeballs in a fight against a guy who can apparently turn professional heroes into screaming toddlers or switch them around in time and space." He gestured vaguely to Bakugo despite the limited space, "Because seriously, what the fuck? My partner vanishes one second and the next you're standing here and I'm having to do some serious damage control so the media doesn't destroy our chance at having a real agency within the first month. So maybe cut me some slack here?"

"Partner?" Bakugo asked, "Not lover?"

What.

This time Kirishima's blush was from pure mortification, "Uhm, no. We... went into business together. We run the agency together. Shit you're, he's, my best friend. But we're not... um, not that."

Not that he didn't desperately want to be, but that was beside the point! And why was Bakugo even asking about that anyway? The memory of this man's hungry arousal grinding gently into his thigh earlier was enough to make his brain want to short circuit.

He blinked in pure confusion as the Bakugo before him let out a throaty chuckle that was low and rough and somehow promised both danger and thrills and did all kinds of interesting things to his nerves.

"He's been slow then." Bakugo purred, real amusement dancing in his eyes, "Idiot." He reached out to gently curl his fingers around Kirishima's cheek with a tenderness Kirishima had never seen in his friend, "No wonder you're confused my dragon. Was that your first kiss with me earlier?"

Kirishima let out a garbled, and extremely unmanly sound. His ability to form actual words had been destroyed and Bakugo's gaze sharpened with glee.

"It was!" He cooed triumphantly, "Well, well, well... perhaps I should explain things then hm?" He grinned wolfishly, "Or maybe..." He pressed himself full body against Kirishima, "This will explain things better?"

Kirishima barely had time to open his mouth to respond before those lips were on his again. His brain shut down under the pressure, molten heat surging through him as this Bakugo kissed him hungrily, expertly, and with every ounce of passion his friend had ever had in any other part of his life.

It was mind blowing, and his knees buckled as he frantically tried to kiss back, years of want and need and wishful thinking crashing into him.

He prided himself in being pretty damn unmoving, but with a single touch he was sent melting against the door as if he had never been touched before in his life.

And in some ways that was true, any fling he ever had never touched him like this before. No one had awakened such a primal, hunger in Kirishima before. This was dangerous, this would put him on a path he could never recover from- and gods he never wanted to.

Before his brain could process it, Bakugo's lips were pulling away, his hand wrapping tight around his midsection strap and holding him upright, pinned against the door with considerable strength when his knees wobbled.

Kirishima knew he wasn't light, but he also couldn't spare the brainpower to be impressed that Bakugo was keeping him pinned to the back of the door, hot breath inflaming him down to his molten core.

Kirishima was beginning to suspect he might have latent masochistic tendencies, because he was playing with a literal bombshell that was just begging him to pull the pin.

And damn if he didn't like being shoved against a door. It was tough to manhandle Kirishima, so he was impressed, and a little aroused when this version of his partner seemed to manage it so easily.

"I am King Katsuki of the East, tamer of the elements and Breaker of chains," Bakugo growled against his lips and Kirishima couldn't help his soft groan over the feel of that hard, powerful body all over his own.

"And you, Eijirou Kirishima, are _mine_, in this life and all your others," Bakugo growled, a territorial spark flashing heatedly in his eyes.

"Huh- wha-?"

"Wait, wait now," Kirishima said breathlessly, only to let out an embarrassing noise when Bakugo took advantage of his distraction to sink his teeth gingerly into his neck. His spine bowed off the door and his fingers gripped Bakugo's shoulders, a ragged breath drawing from him.

"Yes?" Bakugo growled, his voice hiding the hint of smugness Kirishima knew was there.

"Th-that literally tells me nothing!" Kirishima squirmed against him, leveraging enough room to push Bakugo away enough to look him in the eye.

Bakugo gave a long suffering sigh, his lower lip jutting out in an expression of adorable frustration, but he obliged without complaint.

"I am the past life of your Bakugo," he spoke with deliberate slowness to annoy Kirishima.

"We've switched places, I don't know how, I suspect it has to do with a bastard on your side," he slid a warm hand along Kirishima's arm, fingers tensing around the corded muscles. Kirishima swallowed, feeling the warmth seeping into his arms as Bakugo worked on inching himself closer.

"Wait," a sudden thought sent ice shooting through his veins, "my Bakugo. He was hurt."

The sudden flash of red in his vision sent a coil of dread rushing through him. He felt nauseous, losing himself to the wish fulfillment of this man who declared all Kirishima's his - when his Bakugo could be bleeding to death in a different place and time.

"He'll be fine," Bakugo assured him. His eyes flashed challenging to Kirishima, "he is with Eijirou. Unless you think your Bakugo is too weak to survive a simple injury?"

Any insult to his Bakugo was apparently one _this one _would also take personally.

"No, he's scary strong, I just-" _Want to be sure…_

Bakugo snorted dismissively and rummaged into a pouch at his waist before pulling out a pale green stone, "It's a healing stone." He explained before Kirishima could ask, and tucked it back away, "It does what the name implies and heals. Eijirou will have one as well. I mandated everyone in my army possess one for emergencies."

That was such a _Bakugo_ thing to do that Kirishima nearly cried in relief. Alright, if his past self had one of those things then yeah his Bakugo would be fine. Because he knew there was no way in hell he'd let Bakugo stay wounded when he could do something about it.

"Any chance you know how to make those and could teach me?" He asked only half-jokingly, a broad grin spreading over his face.

"I might." Bakugo smirked dangerously, "If you make it worth my while."

"Wha-?" Kirishima started only to gasp as Bakugo sensuously slid his thigh between his legs and pressed.

Oh yeah. He'd forgotten about that for a second.

Bakugo smirked at him and slid a hand between them to palm him roughly, "Exactly." He purred into Kirishima's ear before promptly sucking the lobe between his teeth, and Kirishima's brain short-circuited again.

"A-Are you su-sure?" Kirishima trembled, his body practically howling with delight over the touches. Over the easy and comfortable way Bakugo touched him, like there was no one else he would rather be caressing.

"Of course I am," Bakugo growled with total confidence, greedily exploring Kirishima's chest, "We're connected you and I. I've always been yours. You've always been mine, no matter the version. Remember I will _always_ fucking love you Shitty Hair."

It was like molten lava followed Bakugo's hands wherever he touched, and Kirishima was helpless before the onslaught. In seconds Bakugo's clever fingers had undone his pants and slipped inside to wrap tightly around him in a way that had him seeing stars. In the very distant part of himself that could still think, he wondered just how often he'd done this with Bakugo in the past if the one before him now knew how to do _that_.

He wondered vaguely if it was wrong to live out his fantasies on this Bakugo, but almost immediately dismissed the idea. Despite obviously being in a relationship, this Bakugo had made it clear he wanted all versions of him, and fuck if that didn't turn him on in all kinds of ways.

"Fuck Baku..." He groaned as the blond leaned forward and latched his lips onto his neck, "You know we've never... together..." He panted harshly as Bakugo's thumb twisted over his head and _pressed_ firmly, "Gods don't stop!"

Right, wrong, or indifferent he couldn't deny this. Not when Bakugo had his hand down his pants and seemed determined to drive him insane. Not when he'd dreamed of this exact scenario hundreds of times before.

He thrust sharply into Bakugo's hand, a desperate whine building in the back of his throat. One that Bakugo answered with a feral growl that had him thumping his head back against the door.

"Katsuki," his growling voice rumbled in Kirishima's ear, as if he were demanding his very soul, "I've got my hand down your pants and wrapped around your dick. You better call me by my name Eijirou."

He couldn't even pretend to smother the strangled cry that tore from his throat at Katsuki's command. Heavy pants tore through him and he eagerly yanked Katsuki towards him by the thick leather belt around his waist.

With a little less grace than Katsuki had shown, Kirishima fumbled his way into his pants, swallowing up the soft, lusty moan that followed. Katsuki's lips aggressively followed his, tongue gliding along the seam of his lips and coaxing against Kirishima's. It was so hot between them, and Kirishima was growing lightheaded against the assault to his senses.

Katsuki was too good and Kirishima could hardly keep up as he stroked him, mind growing fuzzy around the edges.

His edge was rushing up to him like white behind his eyes, Katsuki's soft grunts of pleasure disappearing into Kirishima's neck. He was rewarded by the heavy rocking of his lover's hips grinding into his palm, but even with as he was, there was no way Kirishima would be able to get him off before he lost his mind.

Katsuki's hand snapped around his hero mask, unclasping the pieces and tossing it to the floor with a loud clatter that went ignored. Without that barrier, he came after Kirishima with somehow even more aggression.

He whimpered under Katsuki's onslaught, utterly baffled by how well he seemed to know precisely where to touch to send him into pieces. This wasn't fair. This was playing the game with cheat codes and Kirishima did not know how to keep up.

Except it was really hard to complain when Katsuki was dragging blunt teeth over his throat, biting into the thick muscle of his shoulder and chipping away at his impenetrable defense.

"Kat-Katsuki, wait- I'm gonna-!" His eyes snapped open with alarm, ragged pants and desperation tearing through him. It was embarrassing and needy sounding, but he couldn't contain them.

His moans were cut off, hips bucking into that burning palm with aching desperation. Katsuki's grip turned rough and feverish, flashing white spots behind his eyes. It was as if he was determined to make Kirishima cum in his pants like a teenager. Then he shifted enough, causing Kirishima to lose grip on his hot length, only for those clever teeth to sink right into one of his pecs, right around one of Kirishima's nipples.

He let out a loud grunt of Katsuki's name, white spots exploding in his vision. His moans and cries were swallowed up by Katsuki's greedy mouth, his knees turning into jelly as he sagged against the door.

"Mm," Katsuki watched the satiated Kirishima as if he were something to devour. Those eyes on him made it impossible for Katsuki to be ignored, "Rest now Eijirou, you're tired."

Kirishima blinked sleepily at the order and frowned slightly as he made an abortive attempt to pull him closer, but all of his usual strength had been sapped away by the mind-blowing pleasure still thrumming through him, "But... you..."

Katsuki snorted and pressed a kiss to his temple, "Don't be stupid." He huffed, "I got plenty of pleasure watching you."

Kirishima decided he couldn't argue with that, and he didn't really have the energy to anyway, so he nodded and squinted towards his bedroom door. He wasn't entirely sure his legs would support him for the trip to his bed, but he sure as hell wasn't going to sleep here. And the sofa was right out.

He sort of wanted Katsuki to come with him, and that wasn't going to happen except in bed.

He pulled himself upright, reminding himself firmly that he was a pro hero and had done far more difficult things than walk twenty feet to his bedroom after mindblowing sex.

Katsuki watched him in amusement for a moment before a strong arm wrapped itself around his waist, "Idiot." The king grumbled fondly, "You've been pushing yourself too hard if you're this worn out after a little play like that. You're lucky I didn't try to take you where you stood."

"Been a hard three weeks." Kirishima mumbled tiredly as Katsuki helped guide him to his bedroom, "Whole hero community went nuts over our agency when they heard."

"Oh?" Katsuki asked with interest, "Is it unusual for you to have an agency?"

Kirishima laughed and shook his head, "Nah. That's normal. We're different 'cause we're making pro hero teams. No one else works together officially. Everyone's too busy fighting to be number one to do it." He shook his head a little, "But you figured out we couldn't work like that. Not really. Was really genius of you..."

He sighed in bliss as he fell face first into bed, his arms wrapping around his pillow, and his eyes sliding shut. He opened them again as he felt a tug on one of his feet and looked up to see Katsuki tugging pointedly on one of his boots.

He flushed a bit and managed to drag himself upright enough to get them off, and in his half asleep state forgot he'd never actually been fully naked in front of Katsuki and promptly stripped the rest of the way. He was too eager to feel soft sheets without all the itch and dirt from the fight in his clothes. Hell, if he'd been awake enough he would've gotten a shower on top of it.

As it was he flopped back down as soon as he was naked and sank eagerly back into the softness.

He almost didn't notice Katsuki joining him until a weight joined him on the other side of the bed and a warm arm pulled him close.

-::-

Kirishima awoke with a start, the sun beginning to set low in the sky. He groaned, limbs creaking as he registered his surroundings. He had a relaxed feeling to his muscles, telling him he had just gotten some kind of laid. A warm arm was draped along his waist, lean, powerful, and shockingly familiar.

The events of earlier in the day raced back to his mind and he slapped a palm straight against his forehead, moaning over the absolute shit storm he had gotten into.

Katsuki laid in bed with him, his expression smoothed out from all lines of frustration and anger. His cloak was spread out against Kirishima instead of his blankets, but considering they were sprawled out on top of them it was probably for the best.

Katsuki's face was buried in the back of his neck, warm breath steady and slow against the skin. Slowly he shifted more to gain a better vantage point.

Katsuki really was beautiful. Kirishima's heart throbbed with longing, taking a moment to steal his fingers through thick, sun blond hair to memorize it's texture.

What he wouldn't give for his Bakugo to feel the same as this one. But Bakugo had never so much made any indication he was interested in a relationship, much less Kirishima.

So this moment, this memory. Kirishima would treasure it.

He took stock of his body, and frankly was shocked at how he had fallen asleep in such a state. Dirty, dusty, covered in soot, ash, and now his own bodily fluids dried to the top of his thighs and belly.

He needed a shower now. He needed six showers now.

Picking his way over the slumbering Katsuki, he slipped out of the room and to the bathroom. He hoped the man would stay asleep long enough to stay out of trouble, but knowing any version of Bakugo, that likely wasn't possible.

Still, he ran the shower to its hottest setting, hoping it would chase away the last of his exhaustion. He raced through his routine, washing the two-day gel from his hair along with the rest of his grievances.

He quickly jumped out of the shower and dried off in a hurry, tying the towel around his waist and heading back to his room. Katsuki, as expected, was not there.

Groaning softly to himself, Kirishima sighed and decided to go track down his errant roommate, lover, whatever. Thankfully, the man hadn't gone very far in that he was still in the apartment. Unfortunately, he'd gone straight for Bakugo's room.

"What is this?" Katsuki asked as he poked at one of Bakugo's spare costumes.

"Baku's hero costume." Kirishima answered without a fight. He already knew there was absolutely no way he was going to get Katsuki out of there, so instead he might as well indulge the other man his curiosity about his other self. Hell it might even be fun.

He grinned a bit at Katsuki's slightly incredulous look, "Hey don't look at me man, Baku's the one who came up with it. It's pretty ingenious though considering his quirk."

"Quirk?"

"Right... you don't know about that." Kirishima ran a hand through his hair, "Okay, quirks. You see a couple of centuries ago there was this baby born..."

It was a little surreal being the one teaching for a change, but Katsuki was an attentive learner if nothing else. It reminded him vividly of how Bakugo had been in class, and it didn't take long for him to relax a little as he explained the world he lived in to the barbarian king and what it meant to be a pro hero. Though some of the questions hit a little sharply on memories from their school days, a fact Katsuki didn't miss and was quick to probe further on. Though there was a care in it that had Kirishima's chest tightening as he spoke softly about Kamino Ward and All Might and the League of Villains.

"So... yeah." He exhaled softly once he was finished, "That's pretty much everything. After we graduated I went to sidekick for Fatgum while Bakugo went to Best Jeanist." He shrugged a little, "We kept in touch after that. I mean, we're still best friends, but it was hard finding time to hang out with everything that's been going on." He smiled fondly, "At least it was until we started this place up."

"And you aim to be number one with it."

It was a statement, not a question, and Kirishima just had to laugh at it, "That's the goal." He agreed, "I'm not really interested in number one myself. I wanna be top ranked, don't get me wrong, but with my quirk I make a better shield than sword and people tend to prefer the flashy quirks."

He shrugged a little at Katsuki's darkening expression, "Don't get upset about it. I'm happy like this. I got into being a hero so I'd never feel helpless again. So I could make sure those who _are_ get protected. Not so I could stand at the top. And if I can help my best friend achieve _his_ dream along the way then why would I have any regrets?"

"Because you are not just another helping hand Eijirou," Katsuki's eyes flashed with a flare of warning. Like that explosive anger he had always been known for was bubbling up just under the surface about to spill out, "You are not a stepping stone to your Bakugo."

He advanced towards Kirishima, his hand jerking out to cradle his jaw, pinching a little tight as he dragged his head down and forward to meet his furious eyes.

His touch though, remained shockingly gentle despite the rough treatment.

"You are a top hero. And if I am striving for number one, then you will be striving for a spot to stand next to me," his voice brooked very little argument, burning in his intensity.

"Flashy _quirk _or not, neither I, nor the self of this time will accept anything less of you," Katsuki rumbled, and dragged Kirishima into a slightly punishing kiss. His blunt teeth worked into his lower lip, making Kirishima gasp and blush furiously.

When Katsuki released him, a slight shove to his push and a challenge in his eyes, Kirishima panted for breath and rub his mouth.

"Damn Katsuki, that was pretty manly," he grunted, feeling utterly dazed.

"Obviously," Katsuki replied, turning his back to Kirishima, a sharp smirk slashing across his face for a brief moment before it was blocked from his greedy eyes.

Kirishima's stomach flopped as Katsuki walked to Bakugo's organized desk and began to rifle through his plans and papers.

He fell into silence as he watched Katsuki review Bakugo's agency plans with grunted approvals or scoffing reprimands. They were going to have a lot of work cut out for them, and Kirishima sighed as he watched Katsuki search for a quill to write down notes for Bakugo until he fetched him a pen.

A long day indeed.

_**See you guys on Friday for your update! Thanks to everyone who is reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Bakugo was afraid of virtually nothing. Villains, explosions, condescension... He could battle it all.

Failure however, remained one of the most devastating and chilling aspects of fear for Bakugo. He hated to fail almost as much as he was _**afraid **_to fail, and that had been a tough lesson to learn and accept back in his UA days.

But he knew, trailing behind Eijirou's back, that failure would be coming for him again one day. And likely soon.

The dragon, at first glance, seemed impenetrable just like Kirishima. But upon closer inspection, he could see faint lines of scarring between the scales.

They trailed along his back, down his sides, and even peeked around his chest. If there were any similarities between the past and present, Bakugo found himself praying that they started and ended with their faces. Because in this world, something had happened to Eijirou, something strong enough to leave scars on that powerful body.

Bakugo couldn't imagine any force on earth powerful enough to shatter Kirishima. His smile. His energy, his _goodness_.

It made him quietly furious at the other version of himself. Where had he been? Why hadn't he been there to protect Eijirou? How dare he fail when he supposedly was soul-contracted or whatever else hair braiding slumber party bullshit magic they did.

He wanted to ask Eijirou exactly that, wanted to demand it actually, but wasn't really sure if he should. He didn't know this Eijirou. No matter how similar he was to his Kirishima they'd had fundamentally different lives, and that made him different. Unknown. Not quite a stranger, but enough he didn't quite feel comfortable just asking to what the fuck his counterpart had been doing when he should've been watching Shitty Hair's back.

He scowled fiercely as Eijirou cast him a sidelong glance and smiled in amusement, "You can ask you know." He offered, "I don't mind."

"The fuck would I care what my shitty counterpart does or doesn't do?" He demanded, willing the heat rising in his cheeks to go back down where it belonged for being caught staring.

Eijirou laughed lightly at that and Bakugo's heart stuttered. It sounded exactly like Kirishima's laugh when he was happy. A sound heard often, but never enough in Bakugo's opinion.

"It happened just before we met." Eijirou said calmly after a few moments, somehow able to piece together his heated words with the unspoken question, "It was actually how we met. I'd just gone through my rite of adulthood and was out exploring the world when I ran afoul of some dragonslayers."

He grimaced a bit, his eyes going distant as the memory replayed before his eyes, and despite the slight twinge of guilt Bakugo felt for inadvertently dredging up something painful he found himself hanging onto every word.

"Dragons live in nests you know." Eijirou said quietly, "Dragons, queens, hatchlings, all following their lead Drake. We watch each other's backs. But young dragons are expected to go out and see the world before we find a mate and settle permanently. It's usually a time for grand adventures and seeing the world through other's eyes."

"But the thing that makes nests so strong is the same thing that left me vulnerable that day." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I was naïve and didn't realize the trap was there until it was sprung."

He glanced down at the scales on his arm, "They captured me and forced me into my dragon form. Normally that would be my most powerful form, but they used magic to keep me weak and unable to fight." A delicate shiver ran down his spine, "They needed it to harvest my scales."

He looked over at Bakugo, "It was while they were doing that I met Katsuki. He'd heard about the slayers poaching magical creatures for their parts in his territory and came to put an end to them. By then I was half mad with pain and blood loss. If he hadn't shown up, hadn't healed me after, I would've died."

Bakugo stared up at Eijirou speechless. Whatever he'd been expecting... that was not it.

He swallowed a bit, unable to reconcile the image of his other self he'd been building in his head with the one the dragon had just painted. It hadn't been a case of negligence or cruelty like he'd half feared. What did that say about him that he'd automatically assumed it was?

The thought was uncomfortable and sharp and he shoved it away as firmly as he could.

"Explains why you follow the fucker." He muttered at last.

Eijirou's eyes followed Bakugo as he walked ahead, pushing a branch out of the way. The dragon's face seemed to twitch, as if he wanted to growl.

The intensity of the dragon's eyes only seemed to grow stronger as Bakugo shoved his way into a melted looking clearing, a scowl flashing on his face as Eijirou shot a sour look right back at him.

"If you've got something to say, then just say it," Bakugo snapped at him, frustrated by the displeasure in Eijirou's eyes.

"Katsuki isn't a fucker," Eijirou shot back, getting straight to the point. Bakugo met his angry eyes with a flat stare of his own, turning to square off against the burly dragon.

"And neither are _you_," Eijirou insisted, looking for a moment, actually upset. And Bakugo was surprised by that, as reminiscing about his terrible past at the hands of poachers hadn't even twisted his face in such a way. He looked more upset about Bakugo thinking poorly of himself. Admittedly, Bakugo had a high opinion of himself and his talents, but that didn't erase years of his own failures that clawed at his own self assurances.

"You don't know me," Bakugo pointed out to him, "and even if you think you do because of that weird soul connection you've got, that doesn't change the truth."

"And what's that?" Eijirou hissed back at him.

"That you got attached to some asshole who rescued you, and probably didn't deserve what you offered to him," Bakugo replied, hating how shockingly true that had felt. Even Eijirou's eyes widened at that, his jaw dropped open in shock over the naked honesty hiding behind his words.

A thick, penetrating silence fell between them and Bakugo forced his gaze away and back into the woods. He frowned a little as he saw something metal glinting in the woods so he almost didn't catch Eijirou mutter, 'not this crap again.'

His lips pulled into a scowl, head tilting to get a better look at the metal object, not even paying attention to the dragon trying to get his attention. That looked a little like-

"Baku-" Eijirou was cut off, Bakugo's hands slamming hard on the dragon's shoulders and shoving him back.

An arrow whizzed through the air, shooting fast and burying itself in the ground close to where they had both been standing.

"It's a trap," Eijirou snarled, his claws flexing into fists and his eyes burning with anger. Bakugo blinked at the way his stance spread, steady and centered.

That was Kirishima's default stance. He knew it as intimately as he knew his own. It was disconcerting to see it here in a place he was still not entirely convinced wasn't a really fucked up quirk induced fever dream.

However, when another arrow whizzed through the air, instinct took over and he spun to blast it out of the air.

"So they wanna ambush us huh?" He growled darkly, a slightly manic grin curling his lips, "Big mistake you fucking cowards."

His hands crackled and popped lightly as he spotted movement and his excitement soared. No matter how much the rest of his life liked to remind him of how much of a bastard he was, this was something that was all his. The wild thrill of the fight. The pure adrenaline of giving it his all and coming out on top.

He loved it. Unreservedly. And he relished it every chance he got.

This time was no different as he sprang into action, instinctively trusting Eijirou to cover his back. Arrows quickly gave way to figures in some kind of hideous orange uniform looking thing, but they were no match for him. Swinging their swords around like a bunch of second rate stage actors they were no match for the far more modern techniques Best Jeanist, Aizawa, and several others had drilled into his head.

Either that or they just sucked in general. It was a little hard to tell.

It was possible these guys were the fashion challenged equivalent of purse snatchers.

Regardless, he thoroughly enjoyed the chance to unreservedly beat something up after the extremely uncomfortable conversation he'd been having with Eijirou. Speaking of...

He glanced over at the dragon to make sure he was alright only to feel his heart stop at the sight of one of those freaks doing a move right out of any fantasy rpg. He sprinted forward before he could think, fear clawing at his throat, and vaulted over Eijirou's exposed back in a desperate bid to take out the mage trying to cast something at it.

Bakugo could feel the air around him coalesce, crackling with energy. His chest felt tight as the prickle of magic sputtered over his skin. An explosion rocketed him forward, his free hand reaching out for the mage aiming to drop a whole lot of hurt on Eijirou.

He could hear Eijirou roar something out behind him, if it was a warning or not, Bakugo wasn't listening.

He braced himself, his metal plated kneepad scraped deep gouges into the earth. He planted himself squarely and braced his arm, firing off a powerful explosion that rocketed all the way up to his shoulder.

The spell flashed in a blinding light and Bakugo looked up in shock, meteorites plummeting down from the sky like deadly shrapnel. An attack like that would tear him apart in a second.

He was saved from thinking when suddenly he was tackled from above. Eijirou was on him, pinning Bakugo's body flat between his hard chest and the firm ground. Scarlet eyes bore into his, furious and alarmed. His fangs were bared into a snarl, scales crossing over his cheeks and layering upon themselves thickly.

He curled over Bakugo, and no matter how much he shouted in alarm and tried to shove him off, the dragon dug in deeper. He rode out the very spell Bakugo had wanted to save him from, his eyes hard and angry.

Eijirou stood up, seemingly unaffected except for the slight smoking of his back. He extended a hand to Bakugo, and only after a moment of hesitation did he take it.

Bakugo was hauled back to his feet, their remaining enemies scattering away now that their big attack had failed.

"What the hell was that?" Bakugo demanded Eijirou after a moment, and the dragon had the gall to look utterly shocked before he growled back at him.

"I should be the one asking you that! My scales are resistant to magic and physical attacks, you would have been killed!" Eijirou snarled, and under his anger, Bakugo could see the dragon's very real fear.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that?" Bakugo shot back, "I saw that asswipe trying to cast something at your back, a back I fucking swore to guard, and for all I knew it'd have the same effect as whatever that goddam mojo was the slayers in your story used!"

"When did you swear to guard my back?" Eijirou demanded, "For the last several hours all you've been saying is that you're not my Katsuki, and I don't know anything about you! So why the hell do you even care about my back?"

"Because dragon, human, or any goddam thing in between I fucking love you rocks for brains!" Bakugo roared furiously, his temper finally snapping completely under the stress of the day, "I don't fucking deserve any part of you, but I can do one thing right for you! I can guarantee no lowlife bastard ever gets his hands on you! The fuck about that is so hard to understand?"

He was cut off from his enraged rant by a pair of strong arms snapping around his waist and a hot mouth devouring his like he was the best tasting water for a man dying of thirst. His brain stalled out as it tried to process the sudden shift in the conversation, but that didn't stop the rest of him from moaning desperately into that mouth and kissing it back with everything he had.

Every single moment of pent up emotion he'd had going back to his first year in UA when Kirishima had somehow invaded his life and turned his heart upside down.

His arms were trapped between their bodies, but Eijirou didn't seem interested in moving away from Bakugo and allowing him any room to hold him back.

So instead Bakugo grabbed a hold of the dumb looking bandana he had tied around his neck, yanking him authoritatively forward even as he drowned in Eijirou.

And he would have fully succumbed if it wasn't for an unwelcome and wholly familiar, _"well this is awkward."_ coming from just out of sight in the tree line.

Bakugo ripped himself from Eijirou, panting hard from the devouring kiss that almost stole his very soul. His hands and arms trembled and he chanced a look at Eijirou.

The dragon's eyes were greedy and dark on him, his tongue running along his lips as if to savor the taste of Bakugo on them. His heart jumped and threw itself angrily against his ribcage, absolutely wanting to go right back into the arms of the hungry dragon.

No. No. _No!_ This wasn't damn right and Bakugo fucking knew it. Maybe Katsuki was some hotshot king here, but Bakugo hadn't earned his place yet. Hadn't earned that devotion.

Guilt stabbed through his chest like a harpoon as he recalled Kamino Ward and the nightmares that followed it. His failure. His weakness. The fall of All Might that landed squarely on his shoulders.

But he yearned for it. Everything in his body screamed, cried, and begged for it. He yearned for Kirishima like it was a part of himself that was trying to return home.

Unable to look at those determined ruby eyes again, Bakugo stubbornly shoved his way past Eijirou and into the woods.

Where he stopped rigid at the cage that was planted right in the underbrush.

All Bakugo's self destructive thoughts flew away in an instant.

There, behind bars and magically restrained, was none other than Todoroki Shouto, balefully glaring at Bakugo as if only mildly annoyed by his circumstances.

Dressed in his hero gear.

A gleeful smile broke over Bakugo's face, the first sign of good news in well over a day.

"The hell are you doing here Icyhot?"

"Watching you shove your tongue down Kirishima's throat finally it seems." Todoroki replied dryly, a faint twitch of his lips the only indication of how amusing he really found the situation.

"The hell do you mean 'finally' half and half?" Bakugo demanded, that little twitch of lips pissing him off.

Todoroki huffed impatiently as Eijirou crashed through the underbrush to join them, "And Izuku says I'm oblivious. You and Kirishima are literally the only ones unaware of the fact that you two have been circling each other since school. Now are you going to help me out of this thing or not?"

"Oh have they?!" Eijirou exclaimed gleefully as he knelt to melt off the lock on the cage, "Do tell me more about that Prin-er, Todoroki was it?"

Todoroki frowned and cocked his head slightly, "Kirishima we've known each other for the past five years. Nearly six."

Eijirou shook his head cheerfully, "No sorry. Technically you haven't." He gestured to Bakugo, "It seems you and Kat-Bakugo have somehow traveled back to your previous lives and switched places with your past selves."

Todoroki's eyes widened with such surprise it would've been comical if Bakugo hadn't been so irritated to learn that his 'secret' crush hadn't really been all that secret. Except to the one it was directed to apparently.

"That... makes sense actually." He replied slowly and Bakugo re-focused his gaze sharply on Todoroki.

"Okay talk Icyhot." He ordered, "Just what the hell kind of fucked up quirk are we suffering from?"

"It's called Regression." Todoroki replied, "Izuku and I got a report of a shopkeeper being robbed in our area. When we went to investigate we discovered that the man thought he was five years old again."

He flashed Eijirou a grateful half smile as the cage popped open and Eijirou helped him out to pull the cuffs off, "Once we began digging more deeply into the matter we found a similar pattern happening all over the city. Izuku theorized that our villain was either testing the limits of his quirk or advertising so we went to Aizawa for assistance from the underground heroes and we found out the situation was far worse than we'd imagined."

"How worse?" Bakugo growled darkly, a silent promise of pain for the villain in his voice.

"In some of the victims they were reduced back to infants or toddlers, terrified and unable to control their quirks." Todoroki replied grimly, "Others seemed to change personality entirely. I realize now this was presumably because they'd switched places with their past selves but at the time we thought there was some other factor at work. They returned fairly quickly to their normal selves, so I suspect there's a small limit on who can be changed with their past selves at any given time. With Aizawa and the police's help we were able to round up all the victims, but the villain himself eluded us until we cornered him last night."

He shrugged slightly, "You know most of the rest I imagine. I inadvertently made eye contact with him and found myself in the middle of a different fight. I presume my counterpart was pushed to the present, though I can't understand how such a transferal is possible given we should've regressed to our past selves."

"That may have to do with the types of lives you lived." Eijirou mused, "This is a magically rich time period. It's possible that if this man's quirk pushed you back to this era then it might've interacted with the magic to cause a physical switch instead of merely a mental one."

Todoroki bobbed his head in acknowledgment, "It's as plausible a theory as any." He agreed, "Regardless, I presume the Izuku of our time called for backup, which was how you got involved."

"Yeah, apparently your shitty self from this world decided to set a bunch of buildings on fire so Deku lost the villain," Bakugo grunted, "Last I heard that moron had your dumb self under control."

"Speaking of dumb, apparently we're in the middle of a war with your shitty old man," Bakugo knocked a fist against the cage, ignoring Eijirou and his attempt to soften the blow of his words a little.

Todoroki looked a little distressed by the news his alternate self had likely caused quite a bit of damage, but seemed a little appeased that shitty Deku was on the case. Bakugo glanced over at Todoroki who was observing the cage.

"It doesn't surprise me that my father is just as difficult in this world as he is in ours," He sighed and glanced at Eijirou, "If it's not too much trouble, could you catch me up to date on what I can expect?"

"I was captured and left unharmed, but it seemed as if a trap was laid for you both," Todoroki observed.

"No shit Sherlock," Bakugo snarled back at him, his eyes flashing over to Eijirou, "If Endeavor is as much of a eugenics-happy, greedy shit as he is in our world, then it's likely he's trying to move in on Katsuki's territory."

"That won't be possible with me guarding the border," Eijirou growled, but looked fairly smug. Bakugo glanced at the dragon and nodded.

"Which is why we're being lured away from the border of Katsuki's lands," Bakugo reasoned critically, his eyes narrowing. He felt like fucking Deku as he tried to understand what the other version of himself was thinking.

Logically it would be safer for Eijirou to protect his lands. He was a fortress, an impenetrable wall that Endeavors troops couldn't break through. And clearly Katsuki hadn't shared these concerns with Eijirou, who was beginning to fall still and look at him with something akin to faint alarm in the back of his eyes.

It struck him all at once, and Bakugo glanced back at the cage, which was frankly ridiculous in size to contain a single man.

"Endeavor is after me and Kirishima," Todoroki frowned, understanding the leap in a frustrating way before Bakugo could voice it, "the other you must have figured it out."

Bakugo shot him a scowl while Eijirou's jaw dropped in shock before his eyes narrowed angrily, "He did what?"

The question wasn't shouted, it was barely above a whisper, but there was absolutely no mistaking Eijirou's fury. Bakugo eyed him curiously and shrugged.

"It's obvious if you think about it." He replied offhandedly, "Having a dragon on his side would be a hell of a weapon if he could force you to cooperate. And having one on Icyhot's side would leave him fucked."

"And leave the border unprotected?" Eijirou demanded in outrage, but Bakugo snorted derisively at that.

"You seriously think any version of me couldn't hold a fucking border for a couple of weeks Shitty Hair?" He asked, "By the time Endeavor realized he'd fucked up against his son and turned his attention to your territory Katsuki'd have the whole fucking army ready to meet him. And with you coming in from behind there'd be nowhere he could run."

He scowled, "What pisses me off is this whole piss poor ambush bullshit." He kicked the cage, "I'm not dumb enough to spill my plans like that to just anyone, and I doubt Katsuki is either. That makes a damn shortlist of assholes who would've known enough to even set up an ambush."

"A traitor." Todoroki growled, his eyes narrowing with restrained fury, "It's UA all over again."

Bakugo nodded, "Yeah. But there's no telling who the fucking traitor is. This place is a good mirror of us, but it's not exact. UA's traitor and this one could be totally different."

"So the question becomes what we do now." Todoroki frowned, "There's no question I'll need to meet up with my counterpart's army, or rebellion, or whatever he has, if they're going to have any hope of dealing with my father." He looked at Eijirou, "And I apologize if this upsets you, but as the only one familiar with this era and the only one present we can trust, your assistance will be essential."

Eijirou frowned and shifted uncomfortably, "I want to help, but I have an obligation to protect my own home." His frown deepened, "Especially if there's a traitor around. I need to find out who."

"Don't be dumbass," Bakugo glanced at Eijirou, "What did you tell me when I first landed here? If Icyhot's shitty kingdom falls, then there is nothing between them and Katsuki's kingdom."

"That's true," Eijirou growled and dragged a hand along his face, "damn it Katsuki."

No doubt he was wondering why his idiotic lover hadn't told him about his plans. Bakugo thought it was obvious, but Eijirou clearly didn't. Not that he blamed him, Katsuki not being here threw several wrenches in an otherwise decent plan.

"Alright, Prince Shouto- uh Todoroki, we'll escort you to Izuku," Eijirou said firmly, "No matter what the plans were, they've changed."

Bakugo could see the tension in Eijirou's shoulders. He was angry with Katsuki for keeping his secrets.

Not that he blamed him, but based on what Bakugo knew of their relationship and his own Kirishima, it seemed like a perfectly logical thing for him to keep to himself. Kirishima was stubborn as hell, and he would have wanted to face his attackers head-on.

But the risk of forcing Kirishima to experience one of the worst moments of his life when they were prepared for a dragon? Absolutely not.

He wished he could quiet the buzzing in his brain, the constant anxiety he felt for possible tactics and impossible situations roaring to mind.

His palms prickled with sweat, frustration boiling up in him. Eijirou made it pretty clear he didn't want or need protection, but he was just as hard headed as Kirishima. They could be moved, they could be hurt.

Bakugo couldn't be paralyzed with indecision though, he had to figure a way out of this situation that was progressing out of his control.

For a moment he was okay to silently take after Eijirou's lead. They couldn't think of any next step until they got to fucking Deku anyway.

He just hoped they could figure out a fix for this mess once they met up with the damned nerd or he might blow something up out of frustration. Though if they could...

He shot Eijirou a speculative look out of the corner of his eye. If they could, then maybe next time Eijirou decided to molest him he'd actually be worthy of the praise. Assuming the damned dragon didn't turn his brain into mush before then. And assuming he was here that long. Still, it was a pleasant thought that put a warm burn in his chest.

He rather liked the idea of proving to Eijirou he was just as good, if not better, than his past self. And therefore worthy of what he was offering so freely.

And when he got back... he'd have to follow up on Icyhot's claim that Kirishima was hot for him in their time too. If he was, well... he might be unworthy but he wasn't stupid. And the number one and number two positions were just begging to be filled by him and Kirishima and their agency the top agency in Japan.

That had to be at least as good as saving a couple of shitty kingdoms right?


	6. Chapter 6

"So that's the story." Kirishima concluded, and looked around the room at the stunned expressions on everyone at the meeting except him and Midoriya, "We don't know how long this will last, or even if there's a way to reverse it, but if we're going to have a chance of getting Bakugo and Todoroki back we need to catch that villain."

"I've got a copy of everything our investigation has uncovered to this point." Midoriya spoke up grimly, handing Kirishima a folder, "I'm concerned that after what happened before our villain may have gone to ground somewhere new."

"Leave that to me." Shinsou growled, "I'll find out where that bastard is."

Kirishima nodded, "Partner up with Tokoyami and Jirou for that. He and Dark Shadow are half underground heroes anyway, and I'd like to see anyone keep a secret from Jirou's ears." He grimaced, "We don't have half the resources Bakugo wanted us to have for a covert mission like this yet, so we'll have to improvise a little." He scanned the room, "But you all know Bakugo as well as I do. There's no way he'd have picked us if he didn't think we couldn't do what we had to without any kind of support at all."

Fierce grins and nods met him all around and Kirishima grinned back, "Let's get to work."

Kirishima watched in approval as the pros all separated off. They were up, and if this villain thought he could get away from the best pros they knew, then he had another thing coming.

"Wow Kirishima, this is incredible," Midoriya gawked at the way everyone separated off with their assignments. Those who weren't hitting the underground were on the streets doing patrols. They couldn't stop their normal activities even though there was a clear and present need to locate their fellow pros.

And as much as Kirishima wanted to dedicate every ounce of manpower he had to hunt that villain down, Bakugo would kill him if he let the agency fall into disrepair.

There were other villains to keep an eye out for.

"Thanks," Kirishima gave Midoryia a slightly tired smile, but was somewhat heartened by his enthusiasm.

"This is like the hero network, but it cuts down on huge amounts of wait time," Midoryia continued, looking wistful, "It's just like Kacchan to come up with something like this. I'm kind of jealous I didn't think of this."

"He took a lot of people by surprise," Kirishima admitted, "He's not really known for wanting to work as part of a team, but he's grown up a lot since school."

"He has," Midoryia agreed, his eyes flashing over to where Katsuki and Shouto were huddled together in a corner, "but I gotta wonder about him?"

"Katsuki?" Kirishima asked. A fond smile twitched his lips, "He's cool man, don't worry about him. I can handle any Bakugo."

Although if he was honest, it felt a lot more like Katsuki was handling _him_.

Katsuki proved that, one moment later when he suddenly looked up from what looked like a heated discussion with Shouto to meet Kirishima's eyes.

A wicked smile flashed over his face, Katsuki clearly amused over having caught Kirishima staring at him. Slowly, his tongue came out from behind pearly teeth to slide along his lips. The action was so lascivious, so teasing, Kirishima almost swallowed his own tongue.

"I can see that," Midoryia noted, observing the way Kirishima's face went as bright red as the roots of his hair.

"Kirishima, are you and Kacchan together?" He asked curiously, "Because congratulations! I was kind of hoping you two would get closer when you moved back."

"What?" Kirishima gawked at Midoriya, unable to calm his traitorously red face, "No! We're not, I mean... It's not like that-"

"It's not?" Did Midoriya really look disappointed? "Oh sorry, I just assumed."

He shrugged and waved off Midoriya's confusion. He fought for a bright smile to shake off his own heart hammering in his chest.

"So what angle are you going to press?" He asked Midoriya in an effort to get his heart rate back under some vague semblance of control.

"Shouto and I are going to spread the word on the Hero Network about what's going on and see if we can shake loose any information." Midoriya replied with a slight frown, "At the very least we want to ensure the other pros around are on high alert." His gaze swept the agency, "Do you mind if I put you as the focal point for anyone wanting to help?"

"Not at all." Kirishima replied, "That would probably be ideal in fact. And if you could help with any analysis of the information the others bring back that would help a lot."

Because hands down, Midoriya was a monster at quirk and combat analysis, and if it meant them getting Todoroki and Bakugo back in one piece he would shamelessly take advantage of it.

Midoriya nodded and hopped up, which seemed to signal Shouto and Katsuki to come join them, "We should go." He told Shouto, "We've got a lot to do if we're going to keep our part."

"Of course Izuku." Shouto replied and offered Kirishima a little bow, and Katsuki a nod, as they departed.

"Okay, is it safe for me to say that is really freaking weird?" Jirou asked as soon as the pair were gone, "I mean, Todoroki has always been a little stiff, but like he doesn't do the whole courtly thing you know?"

Kirishima snorted involuntarily on a laugh that erupted anyway, "Jirou that's not nice!"

"It's true though boss." She grinned and shrugged unrepentantly, "I mean c'mon... Todoroki was less of a stick _before_ he and Midoriya started dating and you know it."

Kirishima couldn't exactly respond to that because it wasn't exactly a lie. Jirou smirked her victory and eyed Katsuki, who favored her a particularly severe look.

Kaminari took that opportunity to sweep in behind Jirou, a lazy grin on his face and an arm draped around Jirou's shoulders. The woman rolled her eyes and ducked out from under his friendly arm.

"Hey Kiri, you've been hogging the king all to yourself! I wanna see what this version of our dear Bakubro is like!" Kaminari asked him with a lazy grin.

Katsuki's glare somehow became even more severe if that was even possible.

"No version of myself would ever tolerate a nickname like that," Katsuki growled looking every kind of murderous.

"You sure about that Kacchan?" Kaminari teased.

Kirishima took the opportunity to step between his friend and Katsuki before Kaminari met a fiery end. It looked like Katsuki was seconds from exploding.

"Alright Kaminari, c'mon that's enough," Kirishima said sternly.

"I hope this version of Kaminari doesn't fancy himself a bard, this one's voice is just as grating," Katsuki growled.

"Awe come on dude, rude!" Kaminari protested even as Jirou erupted into peals of laughter.

"I was going to say, don't we want to make the king look like he belongs more in this century?" Kaminari asked.

"Gotta say, shirtless fur and beads aren't exactly a combination that'll go unnoticed here," Kaminari commented and Kirishima cringed. Unless they spent the whole time locked indoors, Katsuki would need to wear something different, Kaminari was right.

Katsuki scowled in disapproval, but he took one look at Kirishima's guilty face, he shrugged and glanced away.

"Whatever," he drawled.

"We'll figure something out." Kirishima said and flashed the back of Katsuki's head a grin, "We can afford to get you a couple changes of clothes at least. Because there's no way you'll fit into any of Bakugo's stuff."

"Got firsthand knowledge of that Kiri?" Kaminari sniggered and Kirishima shot him a glare.

"Alright that's enough out of you." He said firmly, "If you've got enough time to make smartass comments then you've got enough time to go charge the backup generator. I know you haven't done it yet."

"Aw, c'mon man!" Kaminari whined, "I was just teasing!"

Jirou nudged him, "Boundaries boltbrain." She told him and shot Kirishima a slightly apologetic look as she nudged their friend away, "Let's try not to abuse them."

Kirishima flashed her a grateful look and shifted over to nudge Katsuki a little and grinned at him, "Wanna spar?"

Katsuki shot him a slightly incredulous look, "What about clothes?"

Kirishima shrugged, "We can deal with that later when you're not ready to fry Kaminari to a crisp." He replied easily, his grin widening, "So how 'bout it?"

"You have a place we can fight properly?" Katsuki asked, an interested gleam entering his eyes and Kirishima chuckled.

"Dude you have _no_ idea." He replied, "C'mon."

Katsuki snorted, but followed Kirishima willingly enough to the gym they'd built into their agency. It had been decked out with all the usual weight and cardio machines, but the pride and joy was the large square area in the center for sparring.

Kirishima walked out into the center of it and dropped into his favorite stance, flashing Katsuki a challenging grin as he did. The barbarian king grinned back, an entirely too familiar feral eagerness lighting his face as he prowled over to stand opposite Kirishima and crouched, "Rules?"

"Quirks and personal magic allowed to sparring levels." Kirishima responded immediately, "Win is determined by out of the ring or pinned and unable to continue. No time limit."

"Perfect." Kastuki growled darkly as Kirishima activated his quirk, "This will be fun."

Kirishima watched flames ignite over Katsuki's palms. It was different than Bakugo's explosions, but the way he took his stance was sharply familiar.

The way he held himself, the razor sharp smile, the burning in his eyes - all of it was so similar. Kirishima swallowed, his heart beating with excitement.

Katsuki sprang forward, opening with an explosive right hook. Kirishima knew it was coming, throwing up his guard and shoving his arm back to open his chest to an attack. Right hand hardening, he aimed for center mass.

He swung into open air, feeling the jet of hot flames rocket Katsuki through the air, the king using Kirishima's arm as a brace to propel himself overhead.

Kirishima staggered a bit, used to Bakugo's acrobatic moves, but not having expected him to launch himself behind Kirishima. The spar started like many of their normal ones, but it was clear this version of Katsuki was far more experienced than Kirishima.

He was stronger, with the weight of wars behind his eyes. A viciousness that was gentled when he looked at Kirishima. But now it was alight with fascination and amusement as they sparred. That same, familiar thirst for victory that outweighed everything else was prominent in every breath he took.

It was enough to knock Kirishima off balance. He grinned back at Katsuki, pivoting sharply and swinging at the king's legs.

He was already out of reach though and Kirishima was beginning to think this was going to be a very challenging match. Furthermore he could see the tension draining from Katsuki's shoulders. Something was bugging him, and Kirishima knew the best way to get Bakugo out of his own head sometimes was physical activity. A good spar where he could vent out his explosions was always a good option.

So they went on like that for a while, Kirishima gradually losing ground against the far more experienced Katsuki.

He knew all of Kirishima's tells, just like his version, but weathering his flames was just as exhausting as explosions. Still, Kirishima wasn't going to yield until Katsuki was all burned out.

At least that was the plan until Katsuki hooked his toe around Kirishima's ankle and kicked out. Toppling over, Kirishima yelped as he fell right onto his ass. He was surprised, because Bakugo hardly ever aimed to knock him off balance considering how hard Kirishima planted himself down. It usually wasn't even possible to get his feet off the ground, but Katsuki had waited for the perfect opportunity.

He tried to recover by swinging hardened legs out to both trip up Katsuki and give him the leverage he needed to get back up, but Katsuki leapt before he could land the kick and before he could gain any leverage he found himself with a face full of smirking Katsuki as he landed on him with a precision that left him gaping.

Bakugo was always a brutally precise opponent, always five steps ahead of his opponents and never landing a hit that wasn't intentional. Katsuki was, if anything, worse. However, that didn't stop him from trying to gain the upper hand anyway.

He curled a leg around Katsuki's and tried to leverage them into a roll that would, hopefully, get him on top. However, Katsuki was having none of that. He wrestled back as they struggled on the padding until Kirishima found himself stuck underneath his opponent, hands pinned over his head, and his legs locked by the other, every single part of them pressed firmly together from chest to hip.

"Good." Katsuki panted low in approval once Kirishima stopped struggling, and grinned savagely, "That was a hell of a fight."

"You need more combat experience." Katsuki continued, "But that'll come with time."

Kirishima nodded a little, but most of his attention was absorbed in the sudden realization of just _how much_ Katsuki had enjoyed their fight. He felt heat flooding his cheeks as his own body responded in an instant. Something there was no way Katsuki couldn't notice.

"Ah..." He tried, torn somewhere between mortified and excited, his heart pounding in his chest. Something that wasn't helped in the slightest as Katsuki's razor sharp grin widened and he abruptly rolled his hips into Kirishima's.

"Fuck... 'Suki..." He groaned incoherently, his entire body coming alive like he'd touched a live wire, and heat scorched through him to pool in his belly.

Katsuki was bending forward, he hovered agonizingly over Kirishima, his body thrumming from the force of Katsuki's sheer presence.

Bakugo and Katsuki had that same magnetic pull. One that grabbed him right at the fibers of his very soul and _yanked_ him to the other. They were exactly the same.

"Why hasn't he come for you yet?" Katsuki growled, something sparking in the backs of his eyes fiercely. He grabbed a fistful of Kirishima's hair, pulling back just firmly enough for an explosion of pleasure to burst between his eyes.

It angled his chin upwards, back arching enough that his mouth skimmed against Katsuki's. The barbarian king didn't close the distance though. He had him precisely where he wanted him.

"You're attracted to him," Katsuki growled softly, moving past Kirishima's lips and letting him breathe again. His whole body felt tight, like he had run a whole marathon.

"But why aren't you two together, just partners and nothing more?" Katsuki seemed confused by that, his mouth whispering heated words into the column of Kirishima's throat.

"Do you not want to be with him?" Katsuki demanded, pulling up enough from his absolute torture to meet his eyes.

Kirishima flushed, his mouth hanging open, "That's not even close! I love him, it's Bakugo who has never even wanted-"

And oh _wow_ Katsuki's lips were on his, pressing into his with such aggression it was almost as if he were being punished for some,slight.

"He loves you," Katsuki assured Kirishima, "he would burn nations for you, sacrifice kingdoms, tear apart any obstacle for you."

"He is me, and if that dumbass hasn't done a good enough job showing you, then I'll just have to step in," Katsuki snarled.

Kirishima stared up at Katsuki in astonishment, hope bursting to life in his chest, "He... you... really?"

He didn't wait for Katsuki to reply before wrapping his arms tightly around Katsuki and pulling him into a tight hug, the words he wanted to say getting tangled in his throat. It seemed Katsuki understood them anyway though as the king hugged him back, and rubbed his hands soothingly down his back.

"Never doubt our love for you Eijirou." He rumbled softly into his ear, "I married you in the past, bound my soul to yours for eternity, and cherish the chance to see the man you were reborn to become." He chuckled lowly, "Despite the unfortunate timing."

Kirishima pulled back a little from the hug despite the rare outpouring of honesty, and ran his hand around Katsuki's jaw with a concerned frown, "What's wrong? What did this mess up?"

Katsuki huffed and shook his head, but Kirishima's eyes narrowed.

"Don't give me that." He ordered firmly, "I know you Katsuki Bakugo. You've had something on your mind that's got you on edge. You've been like this almost since we got up."

Katsuki shot him a grumpy look, but Kirishima didn't back down from it and he huffed out a sigh, "We are at war." He replied at last, "King Endeavor has amassed an army and marches on his son's kingdom. If Shouto's kingdom falls the East will be next. I had a plan. Eijirou and I were on our way to put it into motion when the switch was made. Now it's in ruins."

Kirishima thought that over for a moment, "Bakugo and the other me are there though. Along with Todoroki. I know Bakugo and I are younger than you, but you're a genius. Midoriya's probably the only one who can out analyze you in a fight, and even that gap's closing. So your first plan might've gone up in smoke, but there's still a you there to make another one."

"A me that knows as much of my time as I know of this one." Katsuki replied dryly, "One who isn't a king and doesn't have the respect of the army."

"Does he need it?" Kirishima asked reasonably, "Assuming the other me is as much your partner as your lover he could run the army right? It can't be _that_ different from running a team based agency. Just on a much larger scale." He shrugged, "Though I'm not a general so I can't comment for sure on that. Still, the point is _he_ knows how to make it work, right?"

"He is a general, and responsible for most of the control of my army when I'm not present. There's no one I trust more than to take control and lead my people," his face twisted with something that took Kirishima a moment to figure was guilt.

"But?" Kirishima prodded.

"But I didn't tell him my plan," Katsuki grumbled, lifting off Kirishima enough for him to realize this was something that was really bothering him.

"I'm sorry, but you didn't tell him your plans?" Kirishima burst out hotly, eyes going wide, "You trust Eijirou with your army and country but not your plans?"

"What?" Katsuki scowled, looking perplexed, "don't be stupid, why wouldn't I?"

"Uh, because you didn't tell me this plan that was apparently crucial to the success of your mission?" Kirishima scowled, unreasonably irritated on behalf of his other self. All he had to do was imagine Bakugo doing the same thing to him.

"It's not like I don't trust you," Katsuki responded heatedly, and Kirishima groaned, dragging a hand over his eyes, "I had suspicions about King Endeavor's intentions for Eijirou. He was going to send poachers after him, and I would rather have kept him in the dark about it than have him relive some of the worst moments of his life."

"Oh yeah? So this was about protecting me?" Kirishima's eyes narrowed, "The _dragon _that's sworn to you?"

"You're not an idiot Katsuki, but you really outdid yourself with that one. I am going to kill you when I get my hands on you," Kirishima deadpanned.

Katsuki rolled broad shoulders, "I'll take that punishment when it arrives. Eijirou has done plenty of idiotic things to protect me in the past as I'm sure you've done to Bakugo."

"We watch one another's backs," Kirishima argued, not rising to Katsuki's bait. The king's eyes seemed to reflect the sentiment, casting beyond him against his shoulder.

"We're partners, which means we do this together. The good stuff and the bad," Kirishima reached out to thump his fist against Katsuki's chest.

"And I trust you to watch my back while Bakugo is gone," Kirishima met his gaze without blinking.

Katsuki blinked at him for a moment before a fierce grin curled his lips and he curled his hand around the back of Kirishima's neck and pulled him into a fierce kiss. Kirishima groaned softly into the kiss and pressed closer only for Katsuki to pull away and kiss his way over to an ear.

"I will watch your back." He growled softly in a way it sounded like a vow, "And when you're not being a hero, I will _show_ you what your future holds once your Bakugo returns." Kirishima shivered as he sucked his earlobe between his teeth for emphasis, "You will scream and beg for me." He purred, "That's my promise."

"Fuck Katsuki..." Kirishima groaned, a shiver rippling over him, "If you keep talking like that I'll beg for you now."

Katsuki chuckled lowly as he pulled away, "Later." He smirked wickedly, "It would be too much of a pain in the ass for you to re-establish your authority if the others caught you having fun in here."

"You... are a cocktease." Kirishima complained, but there was no real heat behind it as he grinned and held out his hand.

Katsuki smirked as he pulled Kirishima to his feet, "You'll find out Shitty Hair."

"Shitty Hair?" Kirishima huffed, "Seriously man? Do you call the other me that too?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "Neither of you has any sense of taste." He grumbled, "Obviously I'll have to start fucking dressing you."

Kirishima snorted and shook his head, but he felt a hell of a lot better coming out of that spar than he had going in. Maybe it was the absolute certainty Katsuki had talked about Bakugo liking him that had settled his inner anxiety. Even if he sort of wanted to hit the blond over the head on behalf of his past self.

"Not before I dress you first," Kirishima sang, an eager grin flashed over his face. He punched his fists together, excited to mess with a more willing Katsuki. The last time he had convinced Bakugo to wear something he picked out was a suit during that disastrous I-expo incident during high school.

Katsuki cringed, his eyes flashing down at Kirishima's feet. Specifically the crocs that he was currently wearing.

"Hey I will have you know that these are comfortable and excellent footwear," Kirishima protested the glare Katsuki was giving him.

Katsuki slunk in close to him, his lips curling at the corners.

"I'm burning them."

Not before Kirishima strapped a pair to the King's feet.


	7. Chapter 7

This sucked.

If there was one thing Bakugo hated more than shitty Deku, it was fucking Icyhot. And travelling with him was even worse than having to interact with him. It put him in a worse temper than usual.

He could tell Eijirou was still annoyed at Katsuki and it was affecting his mood. He would have to address that at some point. As much as he hated to talk about feelings and the like, he knew any version of Kirishima was far more in touch with his feelings. Katsuki couldn't figure out why he was so annoyed.

That damn Todoroki was giving him this pitying look like he was in the fucking doghouse or some shit like that. He couldn't figure this crap out but he sure as hell didn't need that jerks help.

So it was with great joy that they finally made the trip back into Prince Shouto's lands.

It was probably the first time in his life he'd ever be happy to see Deku. Kaminari strike him dead where he stood.

He flopped down at a stream and ripped off his heavy bracers. They weren't as cumbersome as they had been in high school, but they were still extremely heavy.

He snarled softly as they thudded to the ground. Bakugo groaned and dumped his arms up to the elbows in the river.

"You in pain?"

Bakugo blinked and turned around, his head swiveling towards Eijirou. The dragon looked concerned, ruby eyes fastened onto Bakugo's arms.

"Just sore," Bakugo grunted, "It's been a while since I've worn my bracers this long."

When Eijirou came closer, Bakugo's lip curled, "it's fine. Don't worry about it."

Eijirou scoffed at him, but knelt beside Bakugo and reached into the water to massage the tender muscles.

Bakugo hissed at the feeling, his teeth gritting at the sensation of those warm hands moving expertly over his tender arms.

"Katsuki has the same issue. He wears enchanted compression sleeves so he can use his magic for longer, but it still takes a toll on him," Eijirou commented.

Bakugo snorted, "I'm sure." He flexed his hand a little, working the tingles out of the fingers, "It's my sweat you know."

Eijirou cocked his head slightly and Bakugo gave him a half shrug, "I produce sweat that I can ignite at will." He grimaced slightly, "And sometimes when I don't want to. The explosions don't hurt me, but if I do too many I start to lose feeling in my hands and my muscles knot up like a fucking rope."

He knocked his bracers with his free hand, "They're designed to collect my sweat so I can fire off bigger explosions when they're full." He smirked, "Takes time but the blast generally puts down anyone dumb enough to be in my way."

"Incredible." Eijirou breathed as he worked his way up to Bakugo's shoulder, "Who do you fight in your time with this power?"

"Any fucker that tries to mess with me or the people I'm protecting." Bakugo replied, "They might be fucking extras, but I'll be damned if anyone touches the assholes while I'm around." He reached around and pulled out his wallet, flipping through it to pull out his hero license, "I'm a hero."

"You don't need a card to prove that." Eijirou replied with a smile and glanced down at the wallet, his gaze catching on a picture of a scowling Bakugo and a brightly smiling Kirishima giving a victory sign at the camera, "You have a portrait of you and the future me?"

Red crept over Bakugo's cheeks, "It's a picture Shitty Hair, not a portrait." He mumbled, "It was our graduation party. Idiot insisted." He stared down at the wallet, quietly praying that Kirishima was alright and that he'd get home soon.

He traced the face with a finger and frowned, "He didn't do it because he didn't trust you."

"What?" Eijirou asked in confusion, and Bakugo looked up at him with an expression that would've looked like a glare on anyone else.

"Katsuki." He clarified, "He didn't tell you because he didn't trust you or some shit like that. He did it to fucking spare you the nightmares. I know 'cause I would've done the same for Kirishima. He's a fucking wall, but even he can crumble with the right pressure."

Eijirou sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, "Yeah..." He breathed, "Yeah, that does sound like the kind of reasoning you'd use." He snorted, "You're both idiots though. You know that right? I'd rather face my nightmares and know what's coming than be left in the dark."

"You and Shitty Hair are too fucking stubborn." Bakugo snorted, though there was a hint of a fond smile curling the corners of his lips.

"It's one of the many reasons you love us." Eijirou laughed as Bakugo felt his face flame. The dragon cocked his head slightly at the reaction, "So how come you haven't told him how you feel yet?"

"This again?" Bakugo grumbled, his eyes narrowing. He snapped the wallet shut and tucked it back away into his pants. His blush remained burning hot and steadfast on,his cheeks.

"Yes. This again," Eijirou grinned at Bakugo, reaching out for his other arm. Bakugo made no effort to stop him because damn if the dragon didn't know how to massage.

It unfortunately also meant he couldn't escape Eijirou's firm hold. The dragon knelt in front of him, his eyes warm and happy. It sent a rush of warmth rushing through Bakugo. He had missed that happiness.

"It doesn't matter if I love you," Bakugo grumbled, avoiding his eyes, "Kirishima is just-"

Frustrating, perfect, and so beyond his reach.

"I need to earn it," Bakugo said instead. Eijirou looked at him in confusion with a tilt of his head.

"Earn it?" Eijirou questioned, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean earn it, did I fucking stutter?" Bakugo growled at him, tempted to jerk his arm out of Eijirou's grasp. It was only by sheer force of will did he keep himself from pulling away.

He stood up, gently slipping his hand from Eijiro and paced like a caged animal. He failed his test of patience, dragging back and forth. Bakugo glanced at Eijirou, his arm flexing hard.

"I'm not good enough for him yet," Bakugo sighed, "and Kirishima grabs so many people's attention so easily. Whereas most people look at me and just see a villain."

"The morons," he growled.

He dragged a hand along his forearm, squeezing tight. The memory of heavy shackles on his arms stuck out to him like a brand.

Eijirou's eyes narrowed at the action so Bakugo immediately stopped. He growled in frustration, suddenly feeling too tight and uncomfortable.

"What did they do to you?"

The growl, low and dangerous and carrying a promise of severe pain startled him. He stared in shock as Eijirou's expression darkened with fury, fury on his behalf, "Tell me." The dragon demanded, "What. Did. They. Do?"

Bakugo snorted and turned his gaze at the river, "Save the crusade." He grumbled, "It was my own dumbass fault. All of it."

"Bullshit." Eijirou hissed and Bakugo startled a little to find Eijirou beside him and running a hand down his arm, "You don't rub your arms like that from some mistake you made. I know Bakugo. What the fuck did they do?"

Bakugo shuddered as the memories washed over him, the sensation in his chest tightening like a vice. The sports festival, the league of villains... All Might. Sludge filling his lungs, and All for One choking him from the inside out.

"You wanna know?" He demanded, his voice thick with tears he refused to shed, "You really wanna know how much of a fuck up I am? Fine!"

"My first year at UA I was a fifteen year old dumbass!" He exclaimed, part of him hoping that if he lashed out harshly enough Eijirou would stop pressing, and the rest of him hoping he wouldn't, "Actually no, that's not true. I was a fuckup before then."

He cracked a small firecracker in his palm, "My whole fucking life everyone sucked my dick because of this! My quirk is powerful. I'm a goddamn genius. I was going places. And I believed it! All of it! Why the fuck wouldn't I? I was four fucking years old! I thought no one could be better than me. That I could match the greatest fucking hero of all time, the symbol of peace himself."

"I wanted it." He growled lowly, "And I looked down on everyone else. I didn't have _friends_. I had fucking hangers on. That fucking nerd Deku was the only one who kept trying, and I hated him for it!" He shook his head, "I was a dumbass kid. I believed the teachers when they said I was great. They didn't drag my fucking head out of the clouds like they should've. I was a bully and a bastard."

He hunched his shoulders, "I told Deku to go kill himself once." He whispered, "And I fucking meant it. The fuck kind of hero does that? But I was too full of myself to see the problem. Even though he pissed me off that was messed up. And it took fucking _years_ for me to have that rammed through my head."

He rubbed his face tiredly, wincing a bit at the moisture in his eyes, "My first year at UA we had a sports festival. I was determined to win. To prove Deku wrong for looking down on me like I was some weak piece of shit that ever needed his help. They booed me in the stands when I fought Uraraka, I was too brutal. Too violent. Then fucking Icyhot wouldn't go all out against me. They didn't fucking _understand_. No one did. It wasn't a fucking win if he wasn't going all out."

He rubbed his wrists, "I lost my shit and refused the award. They fucking chained me down and muzzled me so they could force it on me anyway. The morons thought it was a fucking _honor_ or some shit. Then..." His voice cracked a little at the memory, "Summer training camp... fucking League of Villains shows up to waste us. Fuckers decided I would be an easy recruit because of what they saw at the sports festival so they grabbed me. And I was too fucking weak to stop them."

His fists clenched tightly, "Because of that, because of me, All Might lost his power." He looked up at Eijirou, "I fucking destroyed the symbol of peace and you ask me why the fuck I'm not worthy of Kirishima?"

"The only reason we need agencies like the one I opened up is because All Might was forced to retire. That's on me," Bakugo snarled, teeth clenching down in anger, "because I couldn't keep it together. I acted like some goddamn wild animal in front of the whole world, and practically gave the league a reason to come after me."

"And you think that's your fault?" Eijirou asked him quietly, the dragon's eyes following Bakugo quietly throughout the whole confession. Bakugo couldn't read his expression, but all he could tell from Eijirou's face that he was angry.

He reached out and took Bakugo's arms, this time gently enough he could pull them free without bruising himself if he needed to.

"They chained you up in front of an audience when you were a _child_," Eijirou growled firmly after a moment, "An ill tempered and foul-mouthed child with a superiority complex, but still a child."

"You were younger than I was when they took you," Eijirou growled softly, dragging his claws gingerly through blond hair enough that Bakugo thought he would swallow his own tongue.

"Shitty hair, this isn't the same thing. You were tortured and harvested," Bakugo wanted to cringe away from those soft hands, "you can't even compare the two of them."

"This was my fault. I was weak, and I'm still weak," Bakugo pulled his hands along Eijirou's and tugged them away from his face. He couldn't stand the thought of taking comfort for something that he felt like had poisoned him from the inside out.

"Kirishima loves you, for your strengths and weaknesses," Eijirou replied, but his eyes still burned with anger over perceived crimes that no longer existed, "You aren't responsible for what happened Katsuki. And just because you weren't physically injured, there are always mental scars left behind."

"That weakness you see in yourself is what makes you strong. Don't let it cripple you," Eijirou let Bakugo hold his hands, but he stepped into his space, "You have me to fill in the gaps."

Bakugo sucked in a shaky breath, Eijirou's scent filling his senses as he did. He'd noticed it before. Eijirou and Kirishima smelled the same. It was a scent he associated with both good and bad times. A scent that had remained constant, sidekick jobs notwithstanding, for the past five years.

It was comforting.

He allowed himself a moment to bask in it, in the feeling of safety and peace it brought him, before grabbing Eijirou and shoving the surprised dragon against a nearby tree. He smirked savagely as he pulled himself up to eye level, one leg hiking around Eijirou's hip for leverage, and buried his hand in the dragon's hair.

He stared into those red eyes for a moment, the surprise quickly fading into a far more confident understanding, and smashed their lips together in a kiss that was borderline painful.

Their teeth clashed for a moment, but Bakugo relished it. The near pain was perfect for how he was feeling, and he eagerly bit down on Eijirou's bottom lip, pulling a gasp from the dragon that he wasted no time in exploiting as he swept his tongue inside.

The taste made him shiver in delight, and he made no effort to hide the effect it had on him as he ground himself into Eijirou's belly. He smirked into the kiss as Eijirou shuddered, but didn't relent. He couldn't. He needed this. Just this moment. Just like this.

Eijirou seemed to get the message as he wrapped his arms around him and arched under him with a soft moan. Bakugo growled and pulled away enough to nip sharply at Eijirou's jaw before pulling away entirely.

Satisfied with his work, he grinned up at the blinking dragon, "You fucking talk too much Shitty Hair. I'm going to find Deku. Or a goddamned nap."

Savagely enjoying the dazed look in the dragon's eyes and the heavy panting against his lips, he pushed away and turned back to the woods, scooping up his bracers as he moved.

He felt scraped raw, hollowed from the inside out. But just a little healed over. It wasn't absolution for the guilt he had held onto for so long, but it was better. Eijirou hadn't shoved him away in disgust, and it made him think perhaps... Kirishima might react the same way.

-::-

_Katsuki had been traveling in the same direction for a long time, tracking the footprints and trails left by his quarry. He had heard of their kind invading his territory, and that pissed him off deeply._

_He didn't need the magical folk to come to him in droves, begging him to save their people. Katsuki didn't sign up for that shit. But he also couldn't afford to have a pissed off fairy curse him for ignoring their pleas._

_Besides. He didn't give permission for these assholes to poach on his land._

_The morons might have gotten away with it for a while longer before Katsuki noticed what they were up to. But they had gone ahead and brought a goddamn dragon into his land, and if he needed a fairy's curse like a shot to the head, then he needed a dragon's wrath like a knife to the gut._

_He was prepared to take the dragon out if he had to. Beautiful and rare as they were, if the dragon was beyond the point of reasoning with, Katsuki would have to put it out of its misery_

_Summoning a ball of flame in the palm of his hand. He lit his dark path until he reached a series of caves around him._

_Moving further into the cave system, Katsuki wandered for what felt like forever. He wandered for so long, trying to find flickers of magic wherever he could just so he could at least narrow his field, that he was beginning to suspect that he was in the wrong place entirely._

_At least until he came upon an area where the cave system opened up into a massive space. And there, drenched in blood and looking inches from death was the most beautiful creature Katsuki had ever seen before._

_Powerful, dangerous and so very, very still, the dragon breathed weakly. The chains around it clinked together as it attempted to shift into a more comfortable position._

_His feet moved before his brain could catch up, approaching the injured beast without a thought for his own safety. Any creature whether it was man or animal, was dangerous while injured or close to death. But Katsuki didn't even consider the threat._

_He'd never seen poaching on a scale like this, and the very sight of such a magnificent creature suffering and in pain made him nauseous. It was bad enough when these assholes were targeting pixies and other magical vermin, but to do this to a dragon?_

_He fumbled into his belt pouch for a healing stone. It wouldn't cover the sheer number of injuries here before burning out, but it would at least stop the bleeding and bring relief. However, no sooner had he done so than the dragon realized it wasn't alone and lifted its head to glare at him. He froze as he belatedly realized the danger, but the dragon's eyes were unfocused and hazy with pain. It probably couldn't even see him properly._

_That didn't stop it from letting out loud, defiant, roar however, and Katsuki felt his heart thump a little at the display of spirit despite what the dragon had been through. That was some serious strength there._

_He held up the healing stone for the dragon to see, "Relax." He growled lowly, "I'm gonna help."_

_The dragon cringed away and shook its head before letting out another, louder, roar._

_"Damnit! Would you shut the fuck up!" Katsuki roared back, "I'm trying to fucking help, but I can't do that if you bring the whole godsdamned place down on us! Now hold your ass still and let me fucking heal you!"_

_The dragon blinked in surprise at him, but shut its mouth and eyed him warily. There was still far too much haze in those eyes for Katsuki's taste, but at least it looked like he'd gotten through temporarily. He pressed the stone to what appeared to be the dragon's worst set of injuries and watched as it flared brightly and healing green crawled all over._

_As predicted, it wasn't enough to restore things to normal, but it did manage to at least close the worst of the wounds, though Katsuki thought there would probably be some permanent scarring._

_"Thank you." The dragon rumbled in a surprisingly deep, and very masculine, voice, "The chains... I can't transform."_

_Katsuki hadn't even been aware that dragons could transform into another shape to begin with, but shoved that fact aside for the moment. He glanced around with a frown, "One of the poachers must have the key. Do you know which one?"_

_"Red and gold cloak." The dragon replied, his voice vibrating with exhaustion, "He comes from that direction." The dragon nodded in a direction and Katsuki smirked viciously._

_He cocked his head as he heard distant sounds of shouting. No doubt they were attracted by the sounds of the dragon's roaring._

_"Well look at that, you did me the favor of bringing them to me," Katsuki purred, backing up from the dragon so when they started to attack the dragon wouldn't be in the crossfire._

_With his healing stone burnt out, Katsuki was going to have to tread carefully. Anyone who could entrap a powerful dragon had to be worth a fight. He bent his fingers and waited for the first of his targets to appear._

_The fight was more difficult than he would have liked to deal with. Ten powerful mages that all attempted to hem him in on all sides, but with a whole lot of trickery and general ass kicking, he managed to cave in half the mountain on top of the poachers head._

_He panted, blood splattered across his face and back, even though it didn't belong to him. Katsuki didn't care, they called him the Barbarian King for a reason, and if someone was foolish enough to piss him off, he rarely took prisoners._

_Still, he had taken enough damage himself._

_His arms throbbed from overusing his magic, and he had a deep slash along his side that would likely scar. Again he didn't care because he had won. The dragon was safe._

_"I really hope you don't try to bite my damn head off," Katsuki growled at the dragon warningly as he fumbled with his locks and heavy chains, "I'm not in the mood to put up with your shit if you decide to be an ungrateful ass and take a bite out of me."_

_After struggling with the lock, because it was seriously made out of wrought iron and twice the size of a grown man, Bakugo managed to shove it off and free the dragon._

_At once the magic that had been trapping the dragon fell away. He shifted down into a smaller form, transforming him into a man._

_Glittering red scales littered over his body, curled horns bursting from bright red hair. Tired red eyes looked up at him from a messy curtain of bangs._

_This dragon was in no condition to fight anyone._

_"You saved me," the dragon croaked, awed as he stared Katsuki in the face like he was trying to memorize his face._

_"Don't make a big deal about it, some fairies were all in a huff about it and I don't like anyone poaching on my lands," Katsuki grumbled and got the dragon's arms up from under him, hoisting him up. He muttered a low 'fucking useless' under his breath and then hissed when his injury stretched._

_"You're hurt, what about your stone?" The dragon murmured, hazy eyes deep with worry._

_"It got burnt out when I used it on you. Don't worry about me, you're the one who looks like a freakshow," Katsuki snorted, "What's your name anyway?"_

_The dragon seemed to turn red at his question, a blush along his cheeks as he looked away. Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him, not knowing the significance of the action._

_"Kirishima. Eijirou Kirishima."_

_"I'm King Katsuki of the East, the Barbarian of the Bakugo clan."_

_"It's nice to meet you King Katsuki."_

Bakugo erupted from his sleep, snapping an explosion from his palms hard enough to rocket him from his sleeping position next to Eijirou and into the underbrush with the most venomous string of swears he could manage.

"Bakugo!"

Bakugo groaned and spat out another swear as multiple voices called out in alarm. He shook his head, a wave of disorientation hitting him as he shoved himself roughly into a sitting position. Unsurprisingly, the first to reach him was Eijirou, who crouched down with a look of worry.

"Bakugo what happened?" Eijirou frowned and dug around for a cloth, "Your nose is bleeding..."

Bakugo grabbed the cloth with a grateful look and pressed it to his nose, "Fucking dream." He muttered around the cloth, "Lost control for a second." He frowned a little as he peered up at the forms of Shouto and Izuku staring down at him in concern as well.

"Eijirou... the fuck is going on?" He asked, his frown deepening into confused aggravation, "When did we meet up with the shitty prince and Deku?"

Eijirou's eyes widened in surprise as Bakugo climbed to his feet and peered at an equally startled Todoroki, "The fuck are you wearing?"

"Bakugo..." Eijirou said carefully, "We encountered Todoroki after an ambush attempt and freed him remember?"

Immediately Bakugo grimaced as his brain felt like it was cramping, as if the world was tilting slightly on its axis only to suddenly snap back into proper focus as the memories flooded him. He shook his head again, a painful headache starting to throb. That was right. He wasn't from this time, neither was Todoroki, and they had just met up with Deku just hours before nightfall.

"The fuck..." He muttered and glared at Todoroki, "It's like I didn't fucking know you for a second Icyhot."

"It could've been a side effect of whatever you were dreaming?" Izuku suggested, "You did awaken rather violently, even for you, so you might not have been completely awake yet?"

Bakugo scowled at him, "Newsflash Deku, exploding out of sleep makes for a really fucking good alarm clock."

"It wasn't confusion was it?" Todoroki asked quietly, "You were fully aware, but it was like you'd forgotten you were Bakugo the Pro Hero Ground Zero for a moment. Then something shifted and you remembered."

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at Todoroki, "That's exactly what it was fucking like." He replied, "It's happened to you too?"

Todoroki nodded solemnly, "I've been having strange dreams." He admitted, "I think about my life as Prince Shouto. After I was captured before they knocked me unconscious for a while and when I woke up I temporarily forgot I had any other life. It passed quickly so I thought it might've been a side effect of the unconsciousness. However, if you're exhibiting the same symptoms..."

Bakugo rubbed under his nose, smearing the blood off his face with the cloth and shook his head. Aside from the throbbing in his head, he felt relatively normal now.

"How often have you had those symptoms?" Eijirou asked Todoroki, Izuku's worried eyes lingering over him.

"Just once or twice and always after I sleep," Todoroki shrugged, "I didn't have a violent response like yours though."

"Yeah well we can't all be lucky shithead," Bakugo snarled at him.

"That's something to worry about though Kacchan, if you are starting to mentally regress to a time period you don't belong to, you could cause some damage to your body," Izuko fretted and Bakugo wanted to explode his face just on the principle of it. Izuku of all people had no right to talk to him about damaging his body. He held off though, knowing he was equally as worried if not more so about Todoroki. Because those two were absolutely disgusting in their relationship.

In any time period.

"You think I don't know that nerd?" Bakugo growled and shook off the ringing rattling around in his skull.

"Let's just get this shit done so Icyhot and I can go back to our own time," Bakugo continued, shrugging off Eijirou's worried hand. Already the headache was starting to recede.

He just hoped Kirishima hurried up and caught that damned villain before things got any worse.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Kirishima resisted the urge to thump his head against his desk in frustration. In his present state he would probably smash through the thing on accident, and then Bakugo would give him hell for the expense when he got back.

"No luck?" Midoriya asked sympathetically, and Kirishima groaned a little.

"I don't understand how underground heroes stand this stuff." He complained, and immediately shot an apologetic look across the room, "Sorry Shinsou. Sorry Aizawa."

"Don't be." Aizawa replied calmly as he picked up another stack of reports, "It takes a particular mindset to do this sort of work regularly, and you've always been more fight and action oriented." He stretched a little and scowled at his notes, "However, in this case, I sympathize with your frustration."

"At least we have help from all over the network." Midoriya said optimistically, though he couldn't quite hide his own sigh.

"Speaking of help, where are Katsuki and Shouto in all this?" Shinsou asked curiously, apparently deciding to follow his mentor's lead and take a short break, "I can't imagine either of them being content with sitting on the sidelines no matter what time they're in."

"They're not." Kirishima snorted, "Given the circumstances and the heroes involved Midoriya was able to wrangle them provisional licenses under the restriction they weren't allowed to do anything without one of us there to supervise. So they can at least patrol with us without a problem."

"But you've been sitting here for the last three hours helping us go through reports." Aizawa pointed out, "What about times like now?"

Kirishima shrugged, "Katsuki challenged Shouto to a spar." He replied, "They'll probably be finishing up soon, and we've got a couple hours before patrol so they'll probably come help us out."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at that and Midoriya nodded, "Kirishima showed Kacchan what to look for in these reports so he's been helping. Once I found out I showed Shouto so now they're both helping with the preliminary reports." He gestured vaguely where they were all working, "It's why we're not drowning in paperwork."

"You're welcome for that by the way." Katsuki's voice floated over to them and Eijirou felt his heart do a delighted backflip at the sound of the king's voice as he looked up to find Katsuki and Shouto walking in.

"Holy hell..." Jirou breathed in admiration as she took in the new clothes Katsuki was wearing, "Damn... I knew you had taste Blasty, but that outfit should be illegal on you."

Kirishima flushed as Katsuki flashed her a superior smirk and was grateful he was in his hero costume this time as the blond prowled over and perched himself right on the edge of his desk. His eyes roved involuntarily over the entirely too form hugging outfit, which was probably the exact reason it had been chosen, and his flush deepened as Katsuki's smirk sharpened dangerously.

"Like what you see?" He purred seductively, reaching out to rub a hand over Kirishima's face before curling it behind his neck and roughly pulling him into a heated kiss.

Kirishima made a noise that sounded like a dying whale. Katsuki was fiercely passionate about taking what he wanted when he wanted it. He had pegged Bakugo as a more private person with his affections, but perhaps being a king meant Katsuki didn't care. Bakugo was always kind of a brat in one way or another, but Katsuki being a _royal _brat meant he did what he wanted without thinking about how Kirishima's heart was frantically trying to beat out of his chest. Or the wolf whistles from passing by heroes that got a glimpse of Katsuki ruining Kirishima to anyone else.

Or maybe Bakugo was far more aggressive a lover than Kirishima had anticipated.

He hoped so.

He gripped the edge of his desk tightly, breathing hard through his nose as a flush worked hot and heavy along his chest, up his neck and up his cheeks.

"Yeah I never want to see this again," Aizawa scowled, looking mildly grossed out by his former students, "I'm just going to damage what's left of my eyesight."

"K-Kirishima! I thought you said you and Kacchan weren't together? That looks like you're together to me!" Midoryia looked like he was torn between laughing and sobbing hysterically.

"Shut up Deku," Katsuki pulled away from Kirishima long enough to shoot the pro hero a glare hot enough to peel paint from the walls. Kirishima smothered a laugh because it looked like Katsuki was almost _sulking_. Although to anyone else it would probably not look any different.

"My love life isn't any of your business," he scowled, looking like he was inches from committing murder. Kirishima squeezed his forearm, heart throbbing at the way those cerise eyes darted once more back to him.

Out of his barbarian garb, he certainly looked like Bakugo. If perhaps a little older, with a firmer jawline and thicker shoulders.

It was enough to make him want to rip those nice new clothes back off again and explore the cut body he knew was underneath.

As it was he flashed Katsuki a grin, "Relax man. Midoriya's just confused since Bakugo and I aren't... you know."

"Hmph." Katsuki snorted and crossed his arms, which did interesting things to the way his muscles rippled across his shoulders and back and stretched the fabric just right, "If that moron has any brains whatsoever he'll fix that as soon as he gets back. Lucky Eijirou is there to knock some sense into him."

Kirishima raised an amused eyebrow at that, "I'll knock sense into him?" He asked in amusement, "I'm sorry, have you met yourself?"

Katsuki snorted and flashed him a wicked grin, "Don't underestimate yourself." He scolded, "Dragons are greedy, stubborn, persistent shits." He leaned forward, "No matter what form they take. Once you're part of their hoard it's for life and they don't let go." He leaned back a little, "Eijirou won't put up with younger me's bullshit, and if anyone can crack through his thick skull, he can."

Kirishima blinked at that for a moment before grinning broadly, "Dude that is the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" He exclaimed, "I was really a dragon? Holy shit talk about manly!"

Katsuki chuckled lowly, a pleased smirk curled his lips, "You have no idea." He stood up and stretched a little, "We have time before that patrol you mentioned, and you said something about showing me modern food?"

"Right." Kirishima nodded and hastily rearranged his paperwork, handing his unfinished intelligence reports over to a gaping Jirou, "We're heading to the place on the corner." He announced, "And we'll bring food back before we go on patrol. Any takers?"

That jolted everyone out of their stupor and there was some eager chattering as Tokoyami pulled out a menu and everyone gave their orders. Kirishima noted it all down without batting an eye. After two years of taking notes at crime scenes, food orders for the office were a piece of cake. And it was the least he could do for all the extra hours everyone was putting in.

"Got it." He said once the talking subsided, "Give me a call if there's an emergency. Otherwise we'll be back in an hour or so."

Kirishima could feel Katsuki's eyes drawing over him but made no effort to look back until they were on their way. It wasn't straight out of the way so Kirishima was stopped by several people on the way out who wanted to ask him questions about the agency or current running jobs.

He laughed and chatted easily with a couple of nervous looking people, putting them at ease over their decisions until they were finally able to escape.

Kirishima took a heavy breath, his hand drawing over his chest as he threw off his belt and waistcoat, shoulder guards and sleeves. He tossed them into his locker and jerked a shirt on over his head. The pants and boots would have to stay for the time being, he was too hungry to take more time getting dressed.

He walked out, his notepad filled with orders in his pocket while Katsuki strode beside him. He grinned at the silent man, meeting the intense gaze that was glaring fiercely at him.

"Not going to tell me I'm wasting my time collecting orders?" He asked.

Katsuki snorted, "It _is_ a waste. Those freeloaders can pay for themselves, you supply their coin."

He hesitated and rolled his shoulders, "but I get it. Troop morale and all that bullshit, you've always been better at that garbage."

Kirishima snorted a laugh, "You know that is almost word for word the exact reason Bakugo gave for why he wanted me to be his founding partner?"

He flashed Katsuki a grin over his shoulder as he finished stowing his gear, "I was kinda the buffer between you and the others back at school too. Mostly because you never scared me with that temper of yours. I always thought it was kinda cute."

He shrugged a little, "So when the others wanted to make friends I was the go to because I knew how to speak Bakugo and could translate." He flashed Katsuki a toothy grin, "I guess that's something that carried over huh?"

Katsuki snorted but didn't deny it which made Kirishima's grin wider as they headed for the exit.

"Anyway, when you, Bakugo, approached me about the agency he told me straight up that he wanted me as his partner because we worked well together and I knew how to handle all that 'touchy feely bullshit' that drove him nuts." He smirked, "Not that I believe that for a second. If you didn't care about your people you wouldn't work with them. Simple as that."

"Heh, even if that was true you're still a good choice." Katsuki eyed him out of the corner of his eye as they walked, "You've got the patience to deal with people I don't. And you're a hell of a leader."

Kirishima blushed a bit at that, a little surprised at the honest praise. He'd always felt that Midoriya or Bakugo himself were the better leaders. They were the ones who drew people in after all. He was just good at buffering the people with Bakugo. Though he supposed that in and of itself was a sort of leadership, and the thought that he was doing a good enough job to pull a rare compliment out of Bakugo filled him with warmth.

"Thanks man." He replied after a few moments, not at all bothered that Katsuki had probably been watching his entire thought process, and grinned at him, "That means a lot."

Katsuki humphed but Kirishima could see the pleased look on his face when he did, and on impulse he reached out and curled his fingers into Katsuki's hand.

The king startled a little at the sudden contact, but a happy grin curled his lips as he gripped back and pulled Kirishima closer.

"You're a moron for not knowing that already." He muttered and Kirishima laughed a little.

"Maybe." He agreed, "But I'm pretty sure lightning is slower than you on a bad day, so I'll be happy with getting there eventually." He smirked, "You've never let me stay behind for long anyway."

He perked up, his stomach growling, as the restaurant came into view, "There finally!" He tugged lightly at Katsuki's hand, "C'mon, you're going to love this place. It has some of the spiciest food around. Not as good as the stuff you, I mean Bakugo, cooks but still."

"I'm a damn good cook," Katsuki growled back, looking faintly annoyed he had even suggested anything on the contrary. Still, his eyes held the sharp focus and interest of a sponge trying to soak up as much useful information as possible.

A restaurant wouldn't be an entirely new concept to him, but they were different than what Katsuki was used to. Kirishima pulled Katsuki by the hand, his heart feeling light at the prospect of being able to do this at all.

Creeping doubt of Katsuki's feelings for him were ruthlessly crushed. The confirmation that both he and Bakugo shared the same feelings for Kirishima caused his heart to alight with warmth and giddiness. Katsuki fiercely proclaimed this as fact, and because of who he was, Kirishima believed him. One hundred percent.

Despite his own insecurities and hesitations, his feelings of not being as exciting or flashy as his partner, or even his fears he would make a poor pro...

He believed in Bakugo.

There was nothing manlier than putting absolute faith in others. So as scary as it was to put his hand in Katsuki's and trust Bakugo wouldn't crush his heart when he returned...

Kirishima invested all of himself into it. Just as he knew Bakugo would do.

They entered the restaurant and dropped down into a booth. Katsuki put his back to the wall, eyes fashioned onto the windows and doors with the paranoia of a man who had been snuck up on one too many times before.

Kirishima held no such fear, trusting himself to be able to protect Katsuki even with his back to the door. He grinned brightly at Katsuki, whose ever present scowl seemed to waver under the force of his smile.

There was a softness that seemed to frame his face, smoothing out the hard edges.

It made Katsuki's heart flutter to see and he pulled out a menu before he embarrassed himself totally by acting like a lovestruck teenage girl, "Anything you're particularly hungry for?"

"Yes." Katsuki replied, his eyes still fastened pointedly on Kirishima, and Kirishima immediately forgot his resolve and blushed brightly.

"If you keep doing stuff like that I'm going to permanently turn the color of my hair." He half-laughed half-complained, "Seriously, what do you want to eat?"

Katsuki merely smirked and raised an eyebrow as he dropped his gaze pointedly to Kirishima's lap, "I can think of a couple things."

"Katsuki!" Kirishima hissed and shoved the menu under Katsuki's nose, "Food!"

"You _are_ food." Katsuki smirked, but took the menu anyway and studied it with care before frowning slightly, "Strange... I have no trouble speaking or reading the modern tongue, but none of this makes sense?"

Kirishima blinked as he belatedly realized that by rights Katsuki shouldn't be able to speak so much as a word of Japanese let alone read modern kanji. Even the language from five hundred years ago was different.

"Huh... now that I think about it, how is it you know modern Japanese at all?"

Katsuki shrugged negligently, "That's presumably a side effect of your villain's quirk." He replied, "Bakugo and I are the same soul so it stands to reason that during the exchange some things passed between us." He tilted the menu to Kirishima, "However, this makes no sense."

Kirishima blinked and looked down at his own menu only to groan slightly, "Right, I forgot." He flipped his menu over to the back, "The front is in Chinese."

Katsuki flipped his menu over and immediately his expression smoothed out just as a cheerful looking waitress bounced over only for her to immediately gasp in shock at the sight of them.

"Oh my god!" She breathed excitedly, "Red Riot and Ground Zero!"

"Hey!" Kirishima grinned at her and gestured for her to lower her voice, "We're here off duty." He whispered conspiratorially, "And we're going to be taking food back to the agency. Would you mind...?"

"My lips are sealed." She promised with a smile and pulled out a pen, "What would you like?"

Kirishima breathed in relief as he ordered two of the curries, one extra hot for Katsuki, and handed her his notes, "That's what the others want. Would you mind...?"

"Not at all sir!" She bowed slightly to them, "I'll take care of it and make sure no one bothers you!"

She bounced off and Katsuki watched her go speculatively, "Does that sort of thing happen often?"

"Not too often right now." Kirishima replied, "Bakugo and I graduated already having reputations from our school days. Our time as sidekicks added to it, and the agency has made us really well known in the immediate area."

He shrugged, "You should see what the top pros deal with. They're treated like full on celebrities, and can't go anywhere without fans appearing."

He tugged at his shirt, "That's one of the reasons for the costumes." He admitted, "When we wear them we're being heroes, and that means we're in front of the public at all times. But when we take them off we're regular people like the rest of them."

Katsuki nodded and shifted a bit closer, causing Kirshima to jump slightly when a warm hand abruptly landed on his thigh and began massaging circles in it, "Now..." He purred low, "What shall we do while we wait?"

Kirishima dropped his hand on top of Katsuki's, feeling the warmth radiate up and sink into his skin. It left the unfortunate situation of trapping that dangerous hand against his sensitive inner thigh. He bit his bottom lip when he felt Katsuki's fingers squeeze purposefully into the tender muscle.

Katsuki's sly smirk fell away into a much more intense look, leaning across the table with that clever tongue flashing out against pearly teeth.

"Sit here and not make me embarrass myself in a public restaurant?" Kirishima replied in what he hoped was a relatively even voice. By the curve of Katsuki's lips though, he figured he was unsuccessful.

"Sounds boring," he responded, his thumb inching up higher so it pressed into the fold of Kirishima's thigh and pelvis. The warm digit ran along the line, curling lower, seeking out a place that would make Kirishima tremble.

Well that just went to show him, Kirishima was _already _a mess.

Kirishima felt like his head was going to explode, feeling the telltale of warmth simmering low enough in his gut to cause problems. He yanked Katsuki's hand away from dangerous places and folded it between his own palms to keep it from wandering.

Katsuki smirked at Kirishima, his elbow planted right in the middle of the table, ignoring all manners and decorum.

"Well call me boring then," Kirishima retorted.

"You're many things, a dumbass, a stubborn idiot, and a pain in my neck, but you"re not boring," Katsuki said, "your home is certainly boring though."

"It is? We've got villain fights breaking out every day. I wouldn't exactly call that boring," Kirishima pointed out, quite reasonably in his own opinion.

"Please." Katsuki scoffed, "It's been two days and the only fighting was the morning I got here. Two days ago."

Kirishima rolled his eyes, "That's a good thing Blasty. Gives us more freedom to find the guy who keeps screwing with us."

Of course, no sooner did he get finished saying that than there was a loud crash and a scream. He swore softly as he sprinted out of the booth and outside to see what was going on.

He skidded to a halt in shock as he spotted the very villain they were looking for along with at least a dozen glaze eyed pros that all look like they were sniffling and getting ready for a good tantrum.

"Ah perfect!" The villain cackled in delight, "Just the pro I was looking for!"

Kirishima scowled and shoved his hand into his pocket and pressed the small device he had on him, activating the emergency signal at the agency. His quirk rippled over his shoulders, getting ready for a fight. His shirt fell to ribbons around him but he paid no attention to it as he dropped into a ready stance.

"I don't know what you want with me, but you're not going to get it." He growled, "I know how your quirk works. You're not getting away this time!"

The flash of a camera phone caught the corner of his eye and he swallowed another swear as he shot a look at the restaurant crowd, "Don't just stand there!" He shouted, "This villain's dangerous! Get out of here!"

The civilians gasped and there was a general mad scramble as they rushed to obey his orders. All but one, and Kirishima couldn't repress a grin at the familiar presence at his side.

"What's that you were saying about boring?" He asked.

"My mistake." Katsuki chuckled as flames appeared in his hands, "Clearly your home is every bit as fucking exciting as my own."

"Not exactly in the way I'd like," Kirishima grunted, groaning a little as he kept his eyes on the feet of the villain, trying to watch out for the dazed pros all around them.

"You just had to say something didn't you?" He grumbled and eyed the heros, "Shinsou is gonna love this when he hears about it."

He was going to hate it. In fact when Shinsou got his capture bonds on this guy, Kirishima wasn't sure he'd ever let go.

"Hey, Doctor Who," Katsuki spat, baffling Kirishima. Because what exactly kind of television shows had Midoriya sat Katsuki and Shouto down in front of in the last two days?

"What do you want with shitty hair?" He demanded, rolling sleeves up past his elbows and curling his arm to loosen up his muscles, "you don't even know him."

"Perhaps not, but you do," the villain looked altogether too pleased to answer his question. As if he thought himself so clever he was dying for a chance to monologue over it like an honest to god comic book villain.

"You see something inspiring happened when I was working with my quirk _King Katsuki_," he sneered, causing them both to go still. Aside from a handful of people, no one knew what Katsuki was in his world and Bakugo was not.

"By affecting your present self with my quirk, I can allow myself to see into your past. See into his dreams," he purred.

"And see the dragon you've been keeping as a pet," he tapped his fingers together, "an excellent toy for my arsenal."

Katsuki went very still and quiet, and perhaps that was the scariest version of Bakugo Kirishima had yet to see. Because for all his rage and temper, for the king to go stock still was rather terrifying.

"All I need is Red Riot to look me in the eye, and I can drag him back, regressing your dragon back to the day you two met," the villain laughed, "You were so _heroic_ weren't you, wouldn't it be a shame if someone just took your place?"

"What's he talking about?" Kirishima asked warily, deeply concerned by the murderous look in his still frozen lover's eyes.

"Red Riot..." He growled, "I need you to close your eyes and swear to me you will not open them no matter what."

"Easier said than done." Kirishima replied, "My blind fighting isn't that great."

He gasped slightly as Katsuki placed a warm hand between his shoulder blades, "Heart of my heart and soul of my soul." He snarled quietly, "We are one for eternity."

_Connected heart, mind, and soul. _The words floated up into his head without context and Kirishima breathed automatically, confused where the words were coming from but as soon as he thought them they felt right. As if he'd always known them.

An electric shock traveled through him and he gasped as he felt Katsuki's presence wash over him. What was going on?

_'Trust me.'_ A small voice in the back of his mind that sounded exactly like Katsuki sounded, and he didn't hesitate as he slipped his eyes closed. Whatever was going on, he absolutely trusted Katsuki, and if he'd somehow found a way to talk him through this fight he was not going to argue.

"Wh-what have you done?" The villain asked and Katsuki laughed out a sharp laugh.

"You people may have rediscovered magic, but you're unimaginative morons when it comes to using it." Kirishima could hear the crackle of flame and could almost see Katsuki crouching to attack, "And now you're going to die."

The declaration was quiet, completely unlike any rage filled shout Bakugo had ever produced, and all the more terrifying for it. Kirishima felt a shiver travel down his spine, but he stayed steady.

"We'll see about that." The villain snapped, "All I have to do is force him to open his eyes and it's all over."

"You will never touch any version of Eijirou."

Kirishima spread his stance, throwing his senses out to try and pick up what was going on. He had the vague sense of impressions, his surroundings feeling almost like they were distorted or underwater.

He moved, feeling something shift near his head and realizing it was one of the pros that were under the villains thrall. They were vegetables, regressed to a precise point where they were empty of personality. Of soul.

Kirishima shivered. This wasn't mind control like Shinsou, no. This was being used in such a sinister way, people were now being turned into husks. Those who were unlucky enough not to have a past life.

There had to be a limit though. Kirishima wrapped his hands around an arm flinging out towards him. He yelled and plowed through the crowd. Shooting them apologies in his head, Kirishima pivoted on his heel, trying to blindly orient himself.

He felt a rush of heat behind him and Kirishima realized the villain was trying to sneak up on him, but Katsuki had blasted him away.

Cursing, the villain shouted in anger and jumped back.

Katsuki's warm presence made its way next to Kirishima, the heat radiating off him almost palpable.

"Keep those eyes screwed shut shitty hair, he's trying to flank us," he hissed.

"I'm not worried," Kirishima replied, fingers flexing as he listened for the footfall of their opponent.

"He has a ton of people under his control. Quirks are physical abilities, not magic. Not really at least," Kirishima cocked his head towards Katsuki, "there's a limit to his ability. We just have to find it."

He slammed his fists together, grinning at the satisfying noise, "Or force him to wear himself down!"

"It's frustrating isn't it Red Riot?" The villain called out, this time turning his verbal attack on him. Well it wouldn't work. Kirishima was probably even more stubborn than Bakugo in some aspects.

"Being here and playing house with the wild king, it must be so nice," he laughed cruelly, "Too bad about Ground Zero, but now that you've got a king, why would you bother about your old partner?"

The way he spoke made Kirishima's blood run cold as the implication of something _wrong _roared to life in him.

He shrugged off Katsuki's arm, stalking towards where he thought that rat-bastard was.

"What did you do to him?" He growled, anger making the insides of his eyelids burn red.

"Well it should be obvious shouldn't it?" The villain laughed, "I peek into Ground Zero's head to get some information of the past, and tear a little bit of him apart each time it happens. The process of unravelling has started, I'm afraid not even I can stop it. The more he uses his quirk, the more he loses himself."

"When you pull one tiny thread, the whole tapestry comes undone," the villain laughed.

Kirishima couldn't breath. He couldn't think. He could only think about getting his hands on that scrawny neck and squeezing until he undid the damage.

Kirishima's eyes snapped open, lunging thoughtlessly at the very shocked looking villain. As if surprised his ploy had even worked.

"Kirishima!" Katsuki roared, a tinge of fear coating his voice. There was fire and heat, and Kirishima's eyes were widening, skimming along the villains face. To a scar just along his hairline, over his brows and finally-

Then nothing.

Nothing except thick binding cloths yanking his head back and obscuring his vision.

"Enough Red Riot, calm down," Shinsou's voice came from behind Katsuki, slow, plodding and angry, "Now." He directed his next question towards the villain, his quirk layered in his voice, "Why don't you turn yourself in?"


	9. Chapter 9

Bakugo scowled as he tugged at his sleeves in irritation. He knew why he was wearing this stuff. It was an absolutely necessary thing for him to do with war looming and Eijirou unable to be everywhere.

However...

"Damnit why do I have to look like Kirishima!" He shouted in frustration, and jabbed his finger at Todoroki calmly dressed up as the prince, "Fucking Half and Half gets a shirt! Why the hell don't I have one?!"

"You're a barbarian king." Todoroki replied calmly, "Judging by the style of this era shirts were optional for most of your people."

Bakugo whipped around to glare furiously at Todoroki, his bland expression pissing him off even more than he already was, but before he could say, or do, anything properly scathing a scaled hand slapped the fire and ice user firmly over the back of the head.

"You're not helping." Eijirou scolded and Bakugo seriously contemplated kissing him in that moment.

The dragon sighed and looked at him, "Unfortunately Todoroki has a point. Our culture is far more casual than the prince's is." He smirked, "We're a warrior people. Our customs reflect that. Besides, Katsuki uses fire. He burns through a lot fewer clothes than the prince does dressed this way."

Todoroki shot Eijirou an offended look, and Bakugo decided that kissing the dragon was a _definite_ plan.

"I would like to know exactly what we're expected to do." Todoroki spoke up, "I understand the need to dress as our counterparts, but I'm no more a prince than Bakugo is a king." His expression hardened, "That said, we are heroes and I will not stand by while you fight for your lives and freedom."

"We don't expect you to." Izuku replied, "But we have to play this very carefully." He frowned, "We have a traitor in the ranks. Possibly more than one. Even worse, we can't keep the switch hidden from the commanders and generals. Or from our friends."

"No don't tell me..." Bakugo groaned just as the tent flap flung itself open and past Iida burst through.

"Prince Shouto!" He exclaimed loudly, looking so much like an rpg paladin it physically hurt, "I'm so relieved that you've made it safely!"

"Fucking shoot me now." Bakugo grumbled.

"Bakugo, be nice," Eijirou glanced at him, causing him to snort derisively, "Sir Tenya is one of the realms swiftest knights and a strong ally."

Tenya peered closely at Todoroki and Bakugo, raising an eyebrow at the way the latter's lip curled in disgust.

"Don't tell me Round Face is around here too," Bakugo scowled, ignoring Eijirou's sigh that some things never changed.

"Of course she's here Lord Katsuki!" Tenya gave him a critical glare, "She's busy creating the healing stones you so forcefully demanded to expand into Prince Shouto's army."

"Don't give me any lip you over polished tin can!" Bakugo snapped at Iida, a flare of anger boiling in him at the criticism in the paladin's eyes, "How many times do I have to explain it before this shit sinks into your thick skull?"

Bakugo growled around the sudden throbbing in his head, squinting furiously up at the paladin, "Maybe you do things differently in your weakass Iida clan, but the East relies on the strength of each man. No weaklings."

"Bakugo," Eijirou hissed, his eyes lighting in alarm, but Bakugo was on a roll, his anger mounting from his annoyance over obvious battle tactics.

"It seems a grievous waste of time to use Lady Ochaco's skill to make trinkets," Tenya spoke critically, "her magic would be better suited to building up defenses around the perimeter."

Bakugo shoved his way to eyelevel with Tenya, the frustrating paladin not backing down, even as Bakugo felt Eijirou wrapping a hand around his arm.

"And when that spell fails? What do you have but a bunch of injured and tired soldiers that can hardly think past the pain of their injuries?" Bakugo snarled at him, "An _army_ doesn't stand on just the sword. An army fails without the shield of your partner. And that means equipping your soldiers with what they need!"

The words and tirade were out of his mouth before he even knew it. Eijirou was yanking him away by the biceps before fucking four eyes could incite him into another pile of rage.

His head spun, feeling a trickle of blood before Eijirou even pointed it out to him.

"S-shit," Bakugo swore, the world spinning wildly. He gripped onto Eijirou's biceps as he waited for the world to finally calm down.

He got so worked up and the words just spilled out. Was he starting to lose himself?

The last time this happened he had been dreaming. But this time it had been in the middle of a conversation.

"Bakugo!"

He looked up to find himself staring at an absolutely frantic looking Eijirou.

"Relax Shitty Hair I'm fine." He grumbled.

"You don't look fine." Eijirou replied sharply as he pressed a cloth to Bakugo's face, "You're covered in blood damnit! And this time you weren't asleep."

"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Tenya asked in total confusion.

"That's a long story." Izuku sighed, "Tenya I would really appreciate it if you went and got the others. They all need to know this." There was a pause and Bakugo looked up to find Izuku giving Tenya a firm look, "And Tenya please try not to upset Kacchan. The last thing we need is a repeat of this."

Tenya glanced between Izuku and Bakugo and nodded uncertainly, his confusion still evident, before ducking back out of the tent.

Bakugo grumbled under his breath as he pinched his nose tightly to stop the bleeding.

"Kacchan, what happened?"

Bakugo growled a little, "The fuck should I know?" He asked, wincing a bit at how nasally he sounded at the moment, "He was being a dumbass and pissed me off. How fucking hard is it to understand the concept of emergency healing?"

Eijirou pressed closer, curling his arms protectively around him, "And you lost yourself to Katsuki for a moment again. It's something you've been butting heads with Tenya about for months. What does this mean?"

Midoriya shook his head, "I don't know." He replied, "But whatever it is, it clearly means that we have to get Bakugo and Todoroki back to their time as fast as possible."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Eijirou demanded, honest panic creeping into his voice, "They were attacked in their time Izuku! The one that did it won't be born for hundreds or thousands of years!"

"Then we'll have to trust our future selves!" Izuku replied firmly and grabbed one of the dragon's hands, "Eijirou you know we won't let this rest in any time! If there's nothing we can do now we'll have to trust in our futures. There's nothing that will stop us from fighting for Bakugo and Todoroki you know that!"

Eijirou sucked in a breath and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah. I just..."

"Enough with this self-doubt bullshit!" Bakugo exploded, glaring at Eijirou and jabbing him hard enough in the chest to hurt his own finger.

"You're the most stubborn bastard I know, so have a little bit of goddamn self-respect for once!" He spat at him, "Kirishima will get us home. He's got a couple of brain cells left, so I'm sure when he rubs them together, he might get a good idea."

"For now we stay focused," Bakugo growled at Eijirou, feeling eerily vulnerable with his chest exposed and beaded necklaces draped over his neck.

"Prince Shouto's army will get steamrolled without Kirishima, but the enemy might be prepared for him," Bakugo glared at Eijirou to see if he would deny him this truth, "In fact if Endeavor has any goddamn sense than he would be prepared to fight a dragon in the air."

"Which means he has traps spread out on the field to take Eijirou down," Todoroki said curiously.

"So we wreck them before they can ever use them! " Bakugo let out a victorious snarl.

"Sure Bakugo, and how exactly do you suppose we do that?" Eijirou asked, amusement coloring his voice, as if waiting for some grandmaster plan. Bakugo felt a tick of annoyance, fighting his natural born impulse to keep that to himself.

He scowled and brushed past Eijirou, stalking into the tent he saw Tenya had exited. The others followed him close behind, but he paid them no mind as his eyes fell down onto what he was looking for. A map of the area.

"Deku, you're a nerd in any lifetime, where do you think Endeavor is going to be coming at you guys from?" He growled, knowing the moron probably had some idea where to start looking.

Midoriya looked only faintly surprised to be addressed without a single swear behind it, but pointed along the edge of their border near the tree line.

"He would position himself here where we have foliage to obscure our view. King Endeavor fights intelligently, not just with his considerable brute strength," The dumbass was probably right. For once instead of it annoying Bakugo, he nodded back and slammed his knuckles down on the map, glancing at Eijirou, "Then that's where you have to go. Over the trees."

"If they're expecting a dragon, we'll give them one," he smirked, "but I'll be below, blowing their doomsday weapons to high hell once you draw them out. They likely won't be visible until they see you."

"You want to do what?!" Eijirou protested, "Bakugo!"

"No." Izuku interrupted, his analytical face on, "It's a sound strategy. In fact, it may be better than our original plan was."

"How?" Eijirou demanded, "You saw what just happened!"

"And that's exactly why we have to follow Kacchan's strategy." Izuku replied, "For all their similarities, he and Todoroki aren't actually our Katsuki and Shouto."

"We know that already."

Izuku nodded, "Sure. In our heads. But I think we've been instinctively thinking of them as Katsuki and Shouto, a king and prince respectively." He glanced at the pair of heroes, "Don't get me wrong, you're absolutely leaders in your own right, but you're not the leaders the people need." He looked back at Eijirou, "That falls to us. So while you and I lead the armies and distract Endeavor's army, we'll send Kacchan and Todoroki on this specific mission."

He tapped the map, "If we send them both in they can watch each other's backs and there's not a chance any of Endeavor's war machines will escape Bakugo's explosions with Todoroki backing him up. If we send them in with say Kyoka, Ochako, and Mina as backup we can guarantee they have all the backup they need without the group being so large they'll be spotted immediately."

"I don't like this." Eijirou grumbled and rubbed a hand over his face, "But you're right." He leaned over the map, "I'll move the Eastern army here." He tapped a mountainous ridge temptingly near the forest, "Our people are familiar with fighting in terrain like that, and Endeavor will probably think we've guessed his strategy and are trying to call his bluff."

"That's a good move." Bakugo rumbled approvingly, "If the nerd comes in from this direction you'll catch him in a pincer, and once we demolish his toys the armies can finish him off."

"It's a plan then." Izuku nodded, "We'll present it to the commanders at the next meeting so they can begin preparations. It should only take us a couple of days to get into position. Once Tenya and the scouts report in with Endeavor's position we can refine our plan further."

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Bakugo grumbled, "You do that." He grabbed Eijirou by the scarf, "C'mon Shitty Hair."

"Bakugo what are you-!" Eijirou squawked, too startled to fight as Bakugo dragged him into their tent, "Bakugo, what are you-mph!"

Bakugo growled softly as his lips closed over Eijirou's, cutting off the incessant chatter. Finally. He shivered in delight as the surprise gave way to the dragon kissing him back savagely, punishingly, those lethal teeth nipping at his lips as he all but picked Bakugo up and threw them onto the bed.

"You bastard." Eijirou growled lowly as he broke briefly for air and started kissing his way down Bakugo's neck, "I love you, but sometimes you drive me insane."

"Only sometimes?" Bakugo huffed, a groan building in his throat, "Gotta fucking try harder then."

He was rewarded with a sharp slap on his thigh as Eijirou glared down at him, "That's not what I mean and you know it." He pressed his forehead against Bakugo's, "The thought of losing any part of you terrifies me." He whispered, "I know the other me will save you, but it's hard to remember that when I see you stop being Bakugo and become Katsuki when you shouldn't be."

Bakugo stared up at him in genuine surprise, not having expected that, "You don't want to lose me?"

Eijirou huffed and flicked one of his ears, "Don't be stupid. Of course I don't." Bakugo swallowed at the intensity behind that gaze, an intensity that was all for _him_ and not the shade of who he was, "I married Katsuki dumbass, but that doesn't mean I can't fall in love with Bakugo too."

Bakugo's breath hitched as he pretty much forgot how to breathe at that declaration.

"The past remains in the past, and you're the future," Eijirou's eyes glittered, a predatory warning in them that left Bakugo feeling uncomfortably hot.

"I very much enjoyed seeing the man you've become, and how you'll continue to grow," Eijirou rumbled, taking the opportunity he had where he stunned Bakugo into momentary silence.

Bakugo's chest felt too tight, the level of vulnerability he felt was staggering. If it was anyone else, he would have cursed and yelled until they backed up enough for him to scrabble and throw himself back together again,

Now he felt as if someone had done something as visceral as crack his ribcage open to expose his still-beating heart.

"Yeah, well I'm not stopping when I get to the top," Bakugo breathed, cursing himself internally for how a waver echoed in his voice, "You better keep up with Katsuki shitty hair."

"And I'm certain your Kirishima will rise to the challenge," Eijirou laughed, a smokey sound that resonated deeply into the fibers of his gut.

"You're damn straight he will." Bakugo growled roughly, "I don't fall in love with losers. In any time."

Eijirou grinned brightly at him, "Neither do I."

Bakugo sucked in a sharp breath at those words. So simple and so devastating. The conviction and honestly couldn't be faked and more than anything that left him undone. In a single stroke Eijirou had blown his defenses aside. He was worthy because Eijirou said so. Not because of what he'd done in the past.

His vision blurred against his will and he blinked furiously to clear it, jumping a little when warm thumbs tenderly wiped the tears away, "Goddamnit…" He choked, "I don't fucking deserve you."

He curled his hand around Eijirou's neck and pulled him into a fierce kiss, unable to think of any other way to convey how he felt. Eijirou leaned eagerly into the kiss and Bakugo felt as if an explosion had gone off inside him. This was different from before, he could taste it, though he couldn't have explained why if he'd tried. As it was he growled savagely as he poured everything into his kiss, his hands slipping eagerly over every inch of Eijirou he could reach.

Eijirou growled back, just as eager, his own hands running themselves over Bakugo's bare chest, and he suddenly had a whole new appreciation for going around shirtless as Eijirou trailed his lips down his jaw and further down his neck.

"Fucking hell..." He groaned as he arched into the touch desperately. Years of quietly pining and then the last few insane days had driven him to the limits of his patience. He was tired of waiting. Tired of wanting.

Tired of denying himself.

"It gets better." Eijirou rumbled lowly, a slow, pleased, grin curled his lips where he was kissing.

Bakugo opened his mouth to respond only to let out a strangled yelp that morphed into a desperate groan as Eijirou wrapped his lips tightly around a nipple. He was absolutely certain explosions were going off in his head at the sensation. Never had anything felt half as good when he'd experimented with sex as a sidekick. It was like Eijirou had zapped him with lightning that left him heated and desperate for more.

He vaguely heard Eijirou chuckling and tugged at his hair in retaliation, which only prompted the dragon to wrap his fingers around the other nipple and pinch. The pleasure-pain tore through him like electric lava had been poured down his spine, and his hips slammed upwards into Eijirou's, bringing their hardness into contact.

Jolted slightly out of his haze by the feeling, Bakugo growled savagely and wrapped a leg around Eijirou's hip and flipped them over.

"My fucking turn." He panted as he smirked darkly down at his slightly surprised looking lover, and rolled his hips into Eijirou's again.

It was as if a shadow shivered over Eijirou's face at the way Bakugo found himself on top of the dragon. His fingers dug into the strong muscle of Eijirou's shoulders, grasping firm as he rolled and rocked his hips urgently.

Bakugo pulled Eijirou's willing mouth up to meet his, aggressive in his approach to touch and claim every inch of this version of Kirishima. From that smile to his growled promises and his unyielding spirit. The core of who Eijirou Kirishima was would never change.

It was evident in the way his hands grabbed at Bakugo's hips, his arms flexing in their effort to keep calm and not buck. Bakugo smirked at him, a sharp smile dragging wicked corners over his face.

"Easy Eijirou, who's the impatient one now?" He yanked away from the kiss, heavy breaths shared between them.

"You," the cheeky bastard smirked at him, his hands cupping the swell of Bakugo's rear and squeezing firm.

Bakugo gasped at the sensation and all but tore off his stupid necklaces and fur cape before diving for Eijirou's lips. He growled softly as they parted eagerly for him and shivered at the now familiar taste, the lethal teeth only heightening his excitement.

"Too many clothes Eijirou." He growled into that perfect mouth, and started kissing his way hungrily down Eijirou's body as the other had started to do. He traced his mouth and hands over every dip, curve, and scale he could reach as he tugged at the bandana and vest. Getting the hint, his dragon shrugged out of them both, leaving his torso deliciously bare to Bakugo's gaze.

"How the fuck is it I see this every goddamn day and I still want to sink my teeth into it?" He mumbled as he nibbled and sucked his way down to Eijirou's very prominent bulge.

His smirk widened at the sight of it and looked up at the panting dragon, "Speaking of something to sink my teeth into..."

"Wha-?" Eijirou asked only to let out a strangled cry of his own as Bakugo wrapped his mouth around that bulge and sank his teeth lightly into it, "Fuck Bakugo..." He huffed, "Do that again."

"I have a better idea." Bakugo purred as he pulled Eijirou's belt off and slid his pants open.

"Gods yes." Eijirou laughed, "Great idea!"

He wriggled a little and Bakugo couldn't help a chuckle of his own as he took in the sight of his dragon bare before him. Despite the lack of imagination, the vision of Eijirou flushed and hard and desperate for him was breathtaking, and his own cock twitched eagerly in response.

He pulled back and all but tore his own clothes off before crawling back over him and curled his hand firmly around his lover's length.

"I want this." He growled hungrily, giving it a firm stroke, "I want this buried in me, and I want you to make me see fucking stars." He smirked as Eijirou's gaze darkened. He moved to roll them over and Bakugo shoved lightly on his chest in a firm denial.

He leaned over, "No." He purred into a red ear, "I want to fucking _ride_ my dragon."

Eijirou snorted a laugh, a full bodied sound that dislodged Bakugo for a moment. As much as he laughed though, he knew Eijirou was definitely into it.

"How long have you been holding onto that one?" Eijirou asked breathlessly.

Just the sight of that god awful smiling face was devastating.

"Since I noticed the horns," Bakugo purred back. He palmed Eijirou in his hand, relishing in the feel of his heat and size.

Eijirou's laugh cut off with a strangled groan, his shoulders bowing back as he watched Bakugo between his legs and looking as if he belonged there. Bakugo felt heat surge through his body, propelled by desire plain on the dragon's face.

He released his hold on Bakugo's hips, causing the latter to snarl his displeasure. Bakugo's growls disappeared quickly though when Eijirou's hand returned with a tiny glass bottle.

"Did I say you could let go of me?" Katsuki warned, letting the threat hang in the air between them. He thought he saw Eijirou's eyes flash a burning gold.

"Thought you might want to," Eijirou bent up, fangs scraping along Bakugo's jaw. His breath was low, thick and needy.

"Prepare yourself Bakugo," he moaned, the command coming full of a threat of his own. Those words went straight southbound as did the rest of Bakugo's blood. The dragon's lips pulled back into a pleasured grimace, _"Now."_

Noting Eijirou's claws, Bakugo understood the reason behind the request. But he was wholly into it. In fact, it was just another opportunity to further wreck Eijirou's shit.

He smirked devilishly as he bit into the stopper and pulled it free. He kept his eyes on Eijirou as he slowly drizzled the contents over his fingers and rubbed it lightly. He spat out the stopper and shifted his weight so his aching need was pressing down firmly on Eijirou's.

"Watch me close." He purred dangerously, his tongue flicking out to lick his lips as he reached back and worked his first finger inside.

Eijirou's breath hitched and he watched with fascination as that gold glimmer came back. He remembered from his dream that in his dragon form Eijirou had gold eyes, but he'd never thought it would show beyond the moment.

Deciding to see how far he could push it he rocked his hips lightly against Eijirou's as he carefully worked his finger in and out.

"B-Bakugo..." Eijirou groaned desperately, "Gods..." His hands snapped to Bakugo's hips and began caressing the corded muscle there.

"Keep your eyes on me." Bakugo growled lowly as he carefully added another finger and began stretching himself in earnest, heat flashing through him as Eijirou brought his heavy lidded gaze back to him, "Yeah. Yeah, that's it." He panted as he slipped a third finger in and the sensation finally went from forgettable to good, "Fuck Eijirou..."

"You look so fucking beautiful like this." Eijriou growled thickly, "Have you ever even done this before?"

"Hell no." Bakugo panted, "I have fucking standards for what touches my ass." He leaned over and captured Eijirou's lips into a heated kiss, "And you're the only goddamn one worthy of it."

Eijirou growled lowly and surged forward into the kiss, "Katsuki..." He moaned, "I need you now. Tell me you're ready?"

Bakugo shivered hotly at the sound of his given name falling from those lips. Before now he might've thought Eijirou was talking to his past self, the one the dragon had sworn himself to and married, but the here and now there was absolutely no doubt that _he_ was the one Eijirou was talking to. And that made his heart stutter and swell with emotion. He was what Eijiro's love would one day become, so he wanted Bakugo as he was.

He sank his teeth into Eijirou's bottom as he pulled his fingers free and shifted back, "Oh yeah." He breathed, "I'm more than ready."

He drizzled a little more oil over his fingers and wrapped his hand firmly around Eijirou's weeping cock. The dragon bucked under the touch and he smirked in pleasure at the sight of him coming so undone at such a simple touch.

Eijirou's hair was fanning out on either side of him like a crimson curtain. Bakugo's heart fluttered and he took a moment to look at the length standing proudly at attention.

It was bigger than anything Bakugo had inserted into himself before, but he was hardly a blushing virgin either. He leaned forward to let the tip of Eijirou's cock trail along the muscle of his inner thigh.

"Da-damn, why are you such a cocktease?" Eijirou panted harshly, his greedy eyes glued solely onto Bakugo. He looked even reluctant to blink and miss a single moment.

"Cocktease?" Bakugo growled at the flushed dragon. He scratched firm lines along Eijirou's thick chest. He scraped long dents along his sides, just barely catching Eijirou's nipples with his searching hands. Eijirou almost dissolved as Bakugo aligned himself with his opening and began to apply pressure.

Bakugo huffed out a breath, his hands gripping against his lover's broad form. He bite blunt teeth into tanned skin, hungry along his throat as he jerked his hips down and took Eijirou an inch.

If the dragon had been thrashing before, it was nothing compared to the full body spasm that took control of Eijirou in that moment. The ragged moan Bakugo managed to drag from Eijirou stayed with him in a profound way.

"Katsuki!" Eijirou snarled, eyes fashioned onto Bakugo. His body writhed in a way that made Bakugo starving to just to see more. He took a breath, knees shaking a little as he pressed himself lower another inch.

This time Bakugo made a sound of arousal and embarrassment. He hardly had an idea where that noise even came from but he fiercely denied that he had made a noise so undignified.

Eijirou's lust filled grin told another story, but the sight of it was so erotic Bakugo decided he didn't care what the idiot was grinning at this time. He watched the muscles along Eijirou's stomach ripple with effort as the dragon tried not to thrust up into his heat.

"You're fucking desperate for it." He laughed breathlessly and pressed a palm firmly against Eijirou's belly, "Say it. Tell me how much you want my ass."

"You _are_ a fucking tease." Eijirou growled, his voice deepening into something that more closely resembled his dragon voice, "I'm going to wreck your precious ass as soon as you stop screwing around and take me already."

Bakugo shivered, his cock twitching eagerly at the mental image _that _conjured, and decided he was more interested in seeing just what Eijirou did than in dragging it out any longer. He shifted his weight and slowly sank down the rest of the way, harsh pants tearing from his throat as sensations both foreign and expected tore through him.

This was a hundred thousand times better than anything he'd ever done to himself.

"Fucking hell Eijirou." He moaned as he finally found himself seated fully, pleasure fogging his brain as he felt every single inch rubbing against him, tiny explosions of pleasure going off every time either of them so much as twitched.

He leaned forward and pulled him into a desperate kiss. Nothing had ever felt this good, ever. Then Eijriou's grip tightened and he thrust his hips sharply upwards. Bakugo's eyes flew open wide in surprise as Eijirou slammed into his prostate and pleasure exploded through him.

He almost didn't hear the crackle of literal explosions erupting all over him as he gasped for breath.

He glared down at an equally surprised Eijirou, "You fucker." He growled, "Don't pull that shit without warning. You're lucky those weren't strong."

"Hah!" Eijirou laughed in actual delight, "That was amazing!" He rolled his hips sharply, "Do it again."

Bakugo gaped at him, "Again?" He panted, "Are you fucking insane? I could hurt you!"

"Not a chance!" Eijirou beamed back cheerfully as he began thrusting in earnest, "I barely even felt those! Fuck that was hot!"

Bakugo felt a prickling at his palms, his head falling forward as Eijirou met the challenge.

Bakugo felt a spike of heat jab into his spine, sparking all the way through into his gut. An involuntary noise gasped from the back of his throat when the force of Eijirou's thrust bounced him up and seated him back down at a deeper angle. It was like electricity trembled down his spine that bordered on discomfort but edged along the fringes of his buzzing mind.

Squeezing his knees together around Eijiro's hips, Bakugo dragged his eager palms across that broad chest, "Oh yeah? Well you're about to feel this."

He jerked down onto Eijirou, riding him hard as he set a brutal pace that left his dragon gasping for air and and quiet snarls yanked from his chest.

They fell in together, words falling away as they sipped the fiery air between their bodies, seeking out completion in one another. In all aspects did they complement one another.

It was obvious from the very beginning, even in school. From the way they fought and covered one another's weaknesses to the way their bodies slotted together.

In fact Bakugo thought it might have been the height of stupidity to think he could ever have satisfaction with anyone else but his absolute equal.

They were wrapped in one another, chasing their pleasure until it came upon Bakugo like a golden wave that threatened to crush him.

"Ei..." He panted as that edge stayed tauntingly just out of reach, "Fuck... Ei... I need..."

He couldn't finish the thought, his mind too hazy from the pleasure already coursing through his system, but Eijirou understood him anyway. He slid a hand away from his hips and Bakugo's brain blanked as that warm hand wrapped tightly around his aching erection and began stroking. The dual sensation was overwhelming and he couldn't contain his shout of pleasure if he'd tried.

"C'mon Baku..." Eijirou panted under him, his hand working over him with an experience that had Bakugo nearly sobbing with ecstasy, his skin crackling as he tottered on that knife's edge. It was too much and not enough at once and it made him want to scream except he couldn't gather enough coherent thought to.

Then Eijirou twisted his hand at exactly the same time they slammed together and that tidal wave crashed down over him. He distantly heard a strangled shout, followed by a roar, but paid no attention to either of them as he rode those waves until finally he collapsed onto Eijirou's chest gasping for breath.

Immediately, warm arms wrapped around him and equally warm lips pressed soft kisses to his face. He shuddered a little as his lover slipped gently out of him, but made no move to complain when the dragon groped for a clean cloth and some sort of something in a vial to clean them up with. Even if he'd wanted to he was pretty sure he couldn't. His brain was still pleasure fogged and all he really felt like doing was grinning.

Though that didn't stop him from reaching out to loosely grab Eijirou's wrist when he went to clean up the mess on his belly, "I like that look." He mumbled, "You look good that way."

Eijirou chuckled softly, "Maybe next time you can lick it off me."

A shiver ran down Bakugo's spine at the image and he smirked, "Don't threaten me with a good time Ei."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Eijirou purred back as he finished cleaning them up and curled up next to him and wrapped his arms around him with a pleased sigh, "I love you Bakugo."

The sentiment was soft and sappy and under any other circumstances it would've brought out Bakugo's more abrasive side. He'd hated hearing mushy stuff like that from his past lovers, always irritated by how much they'd insisted on slobbering over him, but coming from Eijirou it made his heart feel warm and fuzzy.

"Heh." He snorted without heat, tangling their limbs together, "You're such a damn sap."

He contented himself with stretching out comfortably along Eijirou's side. He huffed, finally taking the opportunity to inspect the tent they had commandeered. They would have to peel him from his comfortable spot next to Eijirou if they wanted him to move.

He knew they would be out in the thick of a fight soon. He'd be away from Eijirou while the dragon lead his other self's formidable army. As much as he wished he could see the carnage unfold, his own hands itching to blow the dome off that hellfire bastard, he had a better mission.

And he'd be damned if anyone got their hands on Eijirou.


End file.
